


Escaping Reality Can Be Expensive

by cath_la_rine



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Abuse, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate universe - Mafia, Blood and Violence, Borderline Prostitution, Casual Sex, Drug Use, Eventual Healthy Relationship, Homophobia, Homophobic Slurs, Impulsive Gundham, Lots of kissing, M/M, Natsumi and Fuyuhiko are twins, Obsessive Rantaro, Rare Pair, Shuichi does detective work, Smut, Sugar Baby, Sugar Daddy, drug mention
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2020-07-09 17:43:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 42,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19891801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cath_la_rine/pseuds/cath_la_rine
Summary: Kazuichi Souda is a talented mechanic who is thriving in both his efforts to get his bachelor's degree and in his promiscuous night life at the hottest club in the city, Triple X. But this comes to a screeching halt when his vengeful father kicks him out of the house and cuts him off, leaving Kazuichi without of source of income to spend on his... special habit. If only there were some way to make easy money doing what he does best...





	1. Saturday as Usual

The smell of cigarettes and alcohol lingered in the air. Rays of sunlight shone through the windows illuminating junk food wrappers, carpet stains, discarded red solo cups, and sleeping figures on the living room floor. A few stray needles could be seen in the corner of the room lying next to a few college students who seemed to be a little too still. The music player had been long unplugged, with the honking of cars and the ticking of the broken ceiling fan being the only sounds filling the room. A draft had made its way into the apartment due to the balcony door being left open. Across the living room, the bathroom door remained ajar.

An attractive young man lay dazed and confused on the cold, hard tile floor, fluorescent and natural light piercing his vision. The zipper on his pants was undone, his shirt unbuttoned, and his chest marked. A handsome stranger was asleep next to him in a similar state, his red shirt collar dusted with what appeared to be white powder.

It took Kazuichi several minutes to fully awaken and adjust to his surroundings, not fully remembering where he was. He attempted to sit up when he felt a sharp pain in his neck and a stiffness in his back, then slowly laid back down. He tilted his head to the stranger, careful to prevent another burst of pain.

He did not know this man, and didn’t care to find out. Kazuichi could barely recall their encounter at last night’s party anyways, the only clear bit being that they were both too buzzed to even make it to third base. He frowned at all the wasted cocaine decorating the man’s polo, and made another attempt to get up from the uncomfortable floor, ignoring the protests of his neck and back. He glanced at his reflection in the mirror.

_Oh._

Every inch of Kazuichi’s collarbone and shoulder blades was covered in hickies(or bruises, last night was still a bit fuzzy), his neck being no different, particularly the nape. His chest was also peppered with the love bites, though they became less numerous down south, further indicating that the drugs and alcohol had cut the encounter short. 

Kazuichi’s clothes were surprisingly clean, they didn’t normally survive these parties without some sort of drink or fluid stain. His hair was still pulled back in its messy ponytail, with a braid knitted across the side of his head. Although Kazuichi couldn’t see it in the mirror, one of his shoes was missing. In fact, losing one of his shoes at these functions was so prevalent that he stopped wearing his Vans and Converse to them long ago. 

_Why can’t those assholes just steal both shoes? Now I gotta limp home like a loser. Unless…_

Kazuichi peered to the couch and saw a guy wearing obviously off-brand Adidas, snoring as if it would take an earthquake and a little extra to wake him up. The knock-offs appeared to be a men’s size nine and a half. 

_Close enough._

He tiptoed and maneuvered around wrappers, cups, stragglers, and anything that would make noise if stepped on. The ceiling fan’s ticking was a bit distracting, so Kazuichi nearly missed the potato chip he was about to crush. But what he did miss was an empty red solo cup. 

* _slip* *_ ** _CRASH_** *

A sleeping, hungover frat guy caught Kazuichi’s fall, who had abruptly awaken after the sudden wake up call. 

“Oof! Wh...what the..?”

_Shit, gotta go._

Kazuichi quickly snatched the shoes right off the stranger’s feet and ran out the door, still thoroughly hungover himself. He loosely gripped the banister and stumbled down the creaky, chipped stairs of the apartment complex, stubbing his toe on the wall as he turned the corner. He could slip the shoes on later, not getting his ass kicked by a random dude with putrid feet and fake Adidas was much more important at the moment. 

He managed to make it out of the building without falling or being caught, finally slipping on the shoes when he was out the door and around the corner. He discarded his original shoe(also stolen) by pulling it off and tossing it in an alleyway. He checked his pockets, sighing in relief upon finding that his wallet and phone were still in there. A car skidded to a halt nearby, the driver sticking his head out of the window and yelling at the convertible in front of him. 

Judging by the traffic, it was probably about eight thirty in the morning. The streets were packed with cars carrying drivers attempting to get to their nine to five shifts on time, who after years of living in the city still hadn’t realized that simply leaving their houses a half hour earlier would spare them some of the pains of morning traffic. Not even the fact that it was Saturday cleared up the streets. The sounds of honking horns and revving engines, as well as the smell of exhaust, filled the downtown area seven days a week. 

Kazuichi couldn’t afford a car of his own anyway, so the traffic didn’t affect him too much, except whenever took the bus(Ubers and taxis were too expensive). He was always happy to work on them though, earning some cash every now and again from his services, whenever his father would allow him in his workshop. The cars always turned out better than when they were first bought after Kazuichi had given them some attention, his customers claim. It was almost as if Kazuichi had a real natural talent in mechanics. 

Kazuichi felt a breeze, too chilling to be comforting, then promptly realized that his clothes were still undone. He hastily rebuttoned his shirt and zipped up his pants, a headache pounding in his head. Wincing, he pulled out his wallet and sifted through its contents, finding a crumpled up bus ticket. 

_Score!_

Pigeons cooed and fluttered through the alleyways as he made his way to the bus stop. He chose a specific route that took longer than was necessary but was safer than most. He’d likely get mocked or catcalled elsewhere, especially in the state that he was in. They’d usually say something along the lines of “even fags can get it on” or “hey baby I got whatchu need” depending on the area. Not even the broad daylight sheltered him from this kind of harassment. 

A voice called out Kazuichi’s name as he turned another corner. “Hey, Sodapop!”

_No way!_

“Yo, guacamole!”

“The one an’ only!”

Kazuichi jogged up to a man standing in the open doorway to Triple X, the hottest club in the city(also Kazuichi’s favorite). The man was clad in a gray tank top with cover art from a Metallica album printed on the front, slightly loose black jeans, and dirty black Converse. Piercings dotted his right ear, and matching rings and bracelets decorated his hand. He also wore a brand new black leather jacket, and most importantly, a perfect smile.

He cast his gaze towards Kazuichi’s getup, gorgeous grin drooping for a split second. “So, uh, what happened here?”

“What happens every Friday night, Taro,” Kazuichi shrugged. “Except lamer, this time.”

Rantaro Amami raised his eyebrows, black eyeliner giving his eyes the illusion that they were bigger. “How so?”

“Oh boy. Where do I even begin?” 

Horns honked and pigeons cooed as Kazuichi told the timeless tale of his failed hookup. He dramatized it for effect to make Rantaro laugh, but he really wasn’t too hung up on it. He’d had many successful hookups in the past and many more to come, as long as he kept his habits and never moved out of his father’s house. It depressed Kazuichi to think about it too often, so he just didn’t. Or rather, he always had something more important on his mind.

“So, what are you doing here so early anyway, dude? Aren’t you just a bartender here?”

“Haha, no, just bartending alone doesn’t pay rent in this city. Since we’re out in the open, I guess you could say I do a little, uh, retailing.”

Kazuichi’s mouth dropped open.

“ _No wayyyyy, dude, why have you never mentioned this before?_ I’ve easily got one-forty on me, how much do you charge?”

A light sigh escaped Rantaro’s chiseled lips as he ran his fingers through his soft hair. “You already get way too much than what’s good for you Kaz, and I always worry that you’ll overdose at some party surrounded by thirsty assholes and that I won’t be there to help you.” He shrugged off his jacket and draped it over Kazuichi’s shoulders, mumbling, “You’re already worrying me so early in the morning…”

Kazuichi blushed as Rantaro did his usual doting and pulled the jacket tighter around himself, secretly grateful that he was now covered and less freezing, not to mention less exposed. Rolling his eyes a little, he groused, “Geez, you always get so morbid on me. I know my limits and I haven’t had anything since around nine o’clock last night, and you know I don’t like to snort in the mornings. It’s for later, I _promise_.” He utilized his newly discovered skill of puppy dog eyes, knowing that Rantaro could never say no to him when he looked at him like that.

The part-time bartender bit his lip and sighed once again, pulling a tiny Ziploc baggie out of his jacket, which was still on Kazuichi. The baggie was filled with same white powder that stained the shirt of last night’s premature stranger. “Arrived from Columbia the other day. This one’s on the house, but only because I’m glad that you didn’t sleep with that lightweight chump.”

“You don’t like it when I sleep with _anyone_ -”

“Anyway, since when do you wear Adidas? Or rather… what are those exactly?”

Kazuichi lifted his left foot and examined the side logo. “Abidas.”

Rantaro laughed. “Ah, Abidas, of course!”

* ** _screeeeech_** *

A fairly clean-looking city bus skidded to a halt at the bus stop around the corner, the driver calling out and asking who was going to board the bus or just loiter at the benches. He appeared to be even more hungover than Kazuichi was. 

He opened the doors of the bus and turned to Kazuichi, shouting, “Hey fagface, you ridin’ today or what?”

Kazuichi tugged at Rantaro’s jacket in embarrassment as he began to answer, until he was interrupted. 

“Not today, sir, he’s got a ride.” The bite in his tone and unabashed glare almost startled the mechanic. 

“I’ll go buy a burrito, then. I swear, with all the gays coming out there has got to be something in the water that’s makin’ ‘em think men are attractive.”

The bus driver limped to a nearby gas station reeking of rum and cat smell. He was one of those old guys that you honestly couldn’t tell if they were homeless or just drunk. Kazuichi had grown used to his casual homophobia and personality after taking the bus so often, but being spoken to in such a way in front of his good friend didn’t make him feel too splendid. 

“Do you know that guy?”

“Oh, yeah, he’s just always on the job when I need a ride. Great first impression, huh?”

“The best.” Rantaro’s mood seemed a little sour after meeting the driver, his expression slightly annoyed and mixed with something else indiscernible to Kazuichi. 

_Also, did he say he was gonna give me a ride?_

“So… about that ride… were you serious?”

The previously brooding man suddenly lit up, regaining his spirits. “Of course, man. You know how dirty those bus seats are.” 

The constant switching of emotions would have given Kazuichi whiplash if wasn’t already used to it. He always did that when he heard Kazuichi tell him something he didn’t like. 

“Yeah, buses really suck.”

Rantaro hummed in agreement as he lifted his hand up to Kazuichi’s face and tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. “Your hair looks a bit tangled, you should let me brush it…” He lifted his other arm and gently undid Kazuichi’s ponytail while maintaining eye contact with the other man, causing Kazuichi to blush and stutter. 

“G-geez, you always get so touchy feely, I can brush my own hair.” He pushed his arms away and took a step back, the bartender’s expression unreadable as he did so. “Let’s get in your car before the homeless people start to wake up and yell at us.”

Rantaro seemed to regain his previous chill demeanor. “Sounds like a plan.”

***

Bottles and cans littered the floor, nearly tripping Kazuichi as he stepped into his, or rather his father’s, house. He sighed, sliding down against the door and after closing it. He didn’t lock the front door anymore, in case he needed to escape quickly from the raging alcoholic that dominated the household. Said alcoholic wasn’t there at the moment, but Kazuichi still tiptoed to his room, making as little noise as possible, most likely out of habit. His room smelled of oil due to the jumpsuit in the corner that he wore when fixing the engine of a friend’s car, providing temporary relief. Its aroma had become somewhat therapeutic to him over time. 

A container of pills and a water bottle sat on his nightstand waiting to be opened. Kazuichi simply knew himself too well to not leave them there, and was thankful as he downed some of each at the same time. Instant relief came from the cool water, more would be felt later as the ibuprofen took effect. He gently closed his door and leaned his pounding head against it. 

_How much longer can I keep doing this?_

Last night had begun like many recent others, with Kazuichi hearing about a party from a ‘friend’ and crashing it to meet guys and get buzzed. He’d taken a liking to a certain drug not too long ago, about the time he started attending parties regularly. It started for him as it did with many, with a recommendation to try it by a friend, actually trying it, then its use becoming commonplace. Kazuichi had long ago sworn to himself to never become a drunk like his father, and kept that promise quite well, never once getting drunk in his life. But, he needed temporary escapes from both his home life and his personality, and that’s where cocaine came in.

_I feel so short of breath… I think I’m gonna vomit..._

The pleasure powder offered an intense high and sense of euphoria, and paired with some booze, a lack of nervousness. His self-consciousness and insecurities would melt away, minimizing the previously Herculean task of approaching potential partners. Validation and intense pleasure had become essential as of late to keeping Kazuichi sane. He just liked to feel loved, or at least wanted, by someone, _anyone_. 

_Can I even fall back asleep if I don’t feel tired?_

_*_ **slam** *

_Oh, just fucking great._

“If I see that you brought a fag into my house, I’m getting rid of it, plain and simple.”

_Like I’d ever bring_ anyone _into this hellhole._

“Get me a fuckin’ beer.”

Head pounding and lungs exhausted, Kazuichi let the fear of his father overpower his need to rest. He slowly opened his door and made his way to the kitchen, still wary of making noise. So much as a creak from the floorboards could provoke Takeshi Souda to hurl an empty bottle or worse at his son’s head. 

Peering around the corner, he found the courage to leave the safety of the hallway and tiptoed across the carpet, still littered with tripping hazards. The young man carefully pulled the refrigerator door open and searched for his father’s favorite brand. The first two shelves were packed with bottles of miscellaneous liquor, the only contrasts being a quart of milk and a half-eaten cabbage. _Oh right, that’s why I always eat out nowadays._ Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a new bottle of Takeshi’s prized Bud-Light at the very back of the shelf. 

He reached over the sea of alcohol, his hand nearly grazing the refrigerator’s light bulb. _Ah, I got it!_ He lifted it by the neck, raising it over the others, and accidentally tipped another off the edge of the shelf and onto the tiled floor. 

**_*_** **_shatter_ ** **_*_ **

A bottle flew at Kazuichi’s head in an instant, as if the perpetrator expected his son to make that exact mistake. It smashed into the wall, shattering into hundreds of tiny shards as Kazuichi just barely managed to dodge it. He’d become all too accustomed to his father’s drunken rage, but often seemed to forget that avoiding injury always angered his father further. Takeshi pushed himself off of his dirty armchair and stumbled towards Kazuichi. 

“So you think you can bring your _dirty_ fag ass into _my_ house and break _my_ shit?”

He equipped himself with a wrench on a nearby table. 

“Ha.”

Kazuichi froze in place. 

**_“You’re funny.”_ **

With a single swift hit to his temple, Kazuichi felt the world around him darken and fade away from his mind. 


	2. Loss Will Open the Door for New Opportunities

The sun had set. Stray dogs had begun to bark more incessantly while the breeze became bitingly cold. Some neighbors yelled at each other in the distance, further adding to the constant disturbance of the neighborhood’s peace. Meanwhile, he had only just begun to wake up. 

Kazuichi was freezing, his face numb and damp. He’d often found himself passed out on the kitchen floor due to various reasons including drugs and his father, but the surrounding noise usually consisting of sports channel commentary had turned into street noise. His body felt stiff, more so than the first time he’d woken up today. In fact, his whole torso was slightly damp, rather than just his face. Kazuichi once again ignored the searing pain in his neck and sat up to identify his surroundings. 

_Is this… the front porch?_

The grass was wet, implying that the sprinklers had gone off some time ago and sprayed Kazuichi in the process. The same two neighbors argued about whose dog had been defecating in the other’s yard, while a certain smirking cat(well, at least, as much a cat _can_ smirk) lay perched in the tree above them. Letters and envelopes overflowed from the mailbox, likely containing bills, messages from Kazuichi’s college, junk mail, and the like. These details helped Kazuichi confirm that he was, indeed, on his front porch. 

_Damn it._

He stood up with difficulty and checked his watch, which read 8:47 pm. He’d been unconscious for over several hours, practically the entire day. He could faintly hear the television in his living room. Kazuichi remained still in place, not quite sure as to what to do with himself. 

_He’s_ never _left me outside unconscious like that. Surprised I still have my phone and wallet on me, I figured my neighbors would have a grand old time ransacking my body._

His damp clothes clung to his body, chilling him to the bone. He shivered and hugged himself as a homeless drunkard yelled at nothing in particular from a nearby curb. They didn’t exactly live in the best part of town, but Kazuichi had grown used to it. Street fights and substance abuse were common in the place he called home, but Kazuichi couldn’t stand to call this place home another minute. His head felt like it was being split open slowly and tauntingly, and to add insult to injury, he sneezed, feeling as if he would catch a cold soon. 

_Fucking sprinklers._

Right on cue, his phone started buzzing. Kazuichi reached into his pocket and examined the screen. _Leon. What could he want now? I thought he’d be on a date with Sayaka tonight._ He calmed his breathing and answered the phone. 

“Heyyyy, Leon, what’s up, bro?”

_“Uh, yeah, hey, um… my car broke down in front of Triple X.”_

Kazuichi sighed and massaged his temples, already catching the implication of his friend’s statement. 

“You want me to fix it again, don’t you?”

_“Yeah…”_

_Thank God I still have my bus ticket, Rantaro was a lifesaver._ He sighed once more. 

“I’ll see you in about 10 minutes.”

***

Walking around the downtown area at night with messy hair, a soaked shirt, and fresh hickies didn’t do any favors for Kazuichi. He didn’t like to be catcalled or stared at when sober, when he was _aware._ All of his false confidence would just disappear along with his partner from the previous night, only to reappear several hours later at a new bar with fresh powder. It was a vicious cycle. 

The bus driver had not been the one from this morning, which Kazuichi was glad for. He wasn’t in the mood for his personality or comments at the moment. He was dropped off about three blocks away from Triple X and foolishly decided to walk the rest of the way. His foot was almost around the corner before he heard, “Hey, princess, whoever gave you those marks _clearly_ wasn’t doing their job right. How about you come over here and let me fix it?”

_Damn it, I forgot to hide those. I can’t deal with this, not now._

Kazuichi attempted to speed walk out of the man’s sight, but stopped when he felt a menacing hand on his shoulder. 

“Hey, I’m talkin’ to you.” The overweight middle aged man took a drag from his cigarette and exhaled it in Kazuichi’s direction(he noticed a dull gold wedding ring on his finger) as he turned Kazuichi’s body to face him. He bummed his cigarette on a nearby lamppost and in Kazuichi’s ear whispered, “You always ignore nice guys like me, beautiful?”

_Fuck, what do I do?_

Kazuichi was too nervous to talk to guys he was interested in, and the same went for guys he wasn’t interested in. Telling them off just required too much courage, and Kazuichi’s had dried up long ago. 

The man smelled of vodka and body odor, sweat glistening on the acne scars that sculpted his face. He all too roughly pushed Kazuichi against the lamppost, and leaned his mouth dangerously close to the mechanic’s, muttering, “Say something, I wanna hear that pretty voice before it screams my name…”

“Piss off fatass, he’s obviously not into you. Don’t you have a wife to go home to or something?”

Veins popped out to say hello from the greasy man’s progressively reddening neck and forehead.

“YOU WANNA FUCKIN’ DIE, YOU PIECE OF SHIT?”

“Bring it on, ass grabber.”

Kazuichi could recognize that confrontational and overzealous tone and boyish voice anywhere.

_Leon, you magnificent bastard._

He took the opportunity to run all the way to Triple X, the bouncer instantly letting him in. The guy was there so often that he just gave up on asking for his ID every time. He rushed to the restroom and locked himself in an empty stall, definitely not ready to socialize the way he normally did at bars yet. 

Panting heavily, he leaned against the stall door, sliding down to the floor. Normally he wouldn’t let his clothes even touch a bathroom floor but whoever was running Triple X sure knew how to hire a decent janitor. He glanced at his watch. 

_8:59 pm. Rantaro’s shift starts around nine._

As weird as he could be, having Rantaro around always calmed Kazuichi’s nerves. He was one of the few people that didn’t require intoxication to be confident around. _Even if he does act a bit..._

_…_

_Nah, it’s probably nothing. It’s just his personality._

Drunken men were trickling in, already nauseous and wobbly on their feet despite the early hour. Lightweights never lasted long in Triple X anyway. It was best that they were weeded before it got too late and the streets became dangerous.

He heard a knock on the stall door. “Open up, Kaz. I’m about ninety percent sure that you’re not taking a shit.” The faint scent of women’s perfume wafted through the crack in the door. 

“Is he gone?”

“Yeah, one punch an’ he was out. Weaklings sure do talk big.”

The lock slid open, revealing Kazuichi’s childhood friend, Leon Kuwata, clad in his normal clubbing getup of jeans, a leather jacket and paint-splattered shirt, and studded Converse. Not much different from Rantaro’s to be honest. 

“Let’s have some fun.”

***

Strobe lights flashed and danced across the stage as well as the dance floor, accompanied by poundingly loud music, courtesy of the club’s best DJ, but Kazuichi paid it no mind. The powder he’d been so graciously gifted by Rantaro earlier in the day was already in full swing, how lucky he was to have been given such a treat. He was also quite lucky in the sense that his face was fully intact since the wrench that struck him earlier only left evidence under his styled pink hair, which aided him in catching the attention of a dashing stranger with spiky black hair and matching black eyes. Within moments of making eye contact the man had taken Kazuichi’s hand and led him to a mostly empty hallway, where he pushed him against the wall and licked Kazuichi’s lips.

“Y’know, you’re pretty eager for a stranger.”

He kissed Kazuichi’s lips and gave one a light nibble, breathlessly murmuring, “And you’re pretty hard for a druggie.”

The mechanic leaned his head against the wall, gasping lightly as the man quickly kissed Kazuichi’s body all the way down to his erection. He unzipped the mechanic’s pants and tongued his hard-on through his boxers. Kazuichi moaned and grabbed the man’s shoulder, which prompted him to look up at Kazuichi confusedly.

“H-hey, why don’t we… get a hotel room?”

***

“*sigh*, Let’s see if the piper deserves to get paid.”

Kazuichi hung up the towel that circled his waist and grabbed a fresh one to give his hair a final thorough rub. He stepped out of the bathroom feeling slightly annoyed. Hotel shampoo never failed in messing up his dye job at least a little bit, but not smelling like sweat and sex was always more important. Glancing at the sleeping figure on the bed, Kazuichi walked over to evaluate him and determine if it was worth it to leave his phone number. 

_Hmm… let’s see…_

His performance in the beginning was really lacking, his thrusts being akin to that of a woodpecker attempting to peck its meal out of a tree trunk. It was evident that good looks didn’t equate to adequate bedroom skills in this case. Although he did improve throughout the night, there wasn’t much room for improvement considering the fact that Mr. Stranger had done the deed in under twenty minutes, and was now sleeping soundly. The mechanic had watched Spongebob episodes that were longer than that. Not that long sessions were always fantastic, but the guy’s lack of stamina certainly didn’t help his case. 

Bottom line, Kazuichi had had better hookups. 

_Looks like the only number I’ll be calling tonight’ll be Leon’s._

He gathered his belongings and stuffed them into his pockets, closing the door quietly behind him. He dodged a drunk lady who wobbled out of the elevator with her girlfriends, who seemed quite worried about the state she was in. _Must be a beginner_. Kazuichi pushed the button to the lobby as quickly as he could to avoid more interaction with interesting characters.

But despite his efforts, and almost magically, Rantaro had appeared and slipped into the elevator just as it closed. Exasperated, he ran a hand through his fluffy green hair. “Geez, you’re even faster than that guy who brought you here.”

_What!?_

“R-Rantaro, how the hell’d you get here?”

“By car, duh.”

“That’s not what I meant!”

A ding sounded throughout the elevator as its doors slid open. Rantaro rested his arm around Kazuichi’s shoulders. “Let’s go.”

He led Kazuichi to a coffee table surrounded by comfy chairs as the mechanic stuttered in disbelief at the bartender’s presence. Rantaro pulled out a chair and sat Kazuichi in it, gently pushing him towards the table, then taking a seat himself, coolly draping his arm over the couch. He smiled warmly, calm and collected as usual. “So, you wanna know why I’m here?”

Kazuichi rolled his eyes. “It would be nice.”

Chuckling, he straightened his tie. He was still clad in his bartending uniform of slacks, a white dress shirt and brown vest, shiny black shoes, and a navy blue tie peppered with cute tiny sharks. His hands were heavily bandaged. 

“Well, you see, a friend owed me some money, and we decided to meet up for it here.”

The mechanic tsked. “Yeah right, I don’t see any money.”

Rantaro’s eyes darkened and his smile deepened. “Well, that’s my problem. My friend… didn’t exactly have the money quite yet, despite the fact that we agreed to meet today. But I forgave him, that’s what friends are for after all…”

“That’s sweet an’ all, but it doesn’t explain why you’ve got mummy hands.”

“Haha, I just broke a glass and got cut trying to clean it up while on the job. Nothing to worry about.” He gave Kazuichi a reassuring smile. _Well, it’s hard_ not _to believe that everything’s alright when he smiles like that._ “That’s good. It was nice seeing you, I missed you at Triple X tonight.”

“Ah, I was in the storage room taking care of some things, repaying some debts…”

“Oh, that reminds me, gotta pay my half of the hotel bill.” Kazuichi abruptly stood up and made his way to the hotel check-in desk with Rantaro following behind. He was halfway to his destination before he stopped. 

“Hey, Rantaro… about that ‘fast’ joke you made earlier… how did you know that I was here with someone?”

The bartender’s expression was blank for a moment before responding, “I saw you walk in with a man while waiting for my friend in the lobby. Besides Kazu, I know you well enough by now to know how you spend your nights.”

“But why would you wait in the lobby instead of the roo-”

“We should probably pay our fees, it’s getting late and I don’t want weird men approaching you in the alleyways.”

Remembering the man from a couple hours earlier, Kazuichi agreed. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

While walking with Rantaro to the concierge, Kazuichi checked his phone. Two messages from Leon received thirty minutes ago. 

**_Leon:_ ** _hey kaz my schnoz sayaka and i are gonna dip and get a hotel room after I leave my car at your place_

**_Leon:_ ** _dont even know if youre still at the club but if you are stay safe man_

Kazuichi chuckled to himself. _Yeah sure Leon, save me from a crusty old man then leave me to fend for myself at the club while you nail Sayaka. Guess I still have to fix his car, too._ He typed up and sent a response. 

**_Kazuichi:_ ** _tell sayaka i said hi_

He slipped his phone inside his pocket and pulled his wallet out, handing his debit card to the concierge. “The name’s Kazuichi Souda. I’ll be paying half the total.” The concierge took the debit card with a smile, while Rantaro decided to leave the bill to be paid by his unnamed friend mid-transaction at the adjacent desk.

*beep*

**_I’m sorry, your card has been declined. Please consider another payment method._ **

Kazuichi froze, his mouth hung open in disbelief, while Rantaro peered at the concierge helping Kazuichi. The mechanic managed to utter, “Excuse me, what… did it say again?”

“Um, I believe that it said your card has been declined, sir.”

_No way, that thing had_ at least _two hundred dollars on it..._

“I see…”

Rantaro lightly touched the mechanic’s shoulder, offering, “Kazuichi, if you need me to pay I’ll be more than happy to-”

“No!”

Both concierges, as well as Rantaro, were shocked at Kazuichi’s sudden outburst. The mechanic felt a twinge of guilt and embarrassment, he hadn’t meant to shout. “I-I mean, I’ll just leave the bill to the sharer of the room.”

The old concierge, still slightly taken aback, handed Kazuichi his null debit card and politely responded, “If that is what you wish, sir.”

Kazuichi shoved his card and wallet back into his pocket and turned to the door. “Let’s go, Rantaro.”

Rantaro held back on expressing his worry and simply did as he was asked. “Okay.”

The weather outside was much more tolerable than it had been when Kazuichi woke up on his father’s porch. Granted, he was not soaking wet this time around. But as soon as the hotel doors closed, Kazuichi received a call, melancholy turning into horror as he read the caller ID. 

“Um… Rantaro… sorry, I’d like to answer this in private.”

The attractive man’s eyes were flooded with worry, but once again it was ignored for Kazuichi’s sake. “Don’t let me distract you.”

The mechanic took a seat on a nearby smoking bench, his thumb trembling for a moment before pressing the call button and lifting the phone to his ear. 

“ _HA! You tried to use the debit card, didn’t you, ya fucking cock knocker?”_

_H… how did he…_

_“Well, let me tell ya that I’m fuckin’ done with giving you money for anything, including school. I’ve had enough of a queer taking what little money I have and doing God knows what with it. Also, get rid of the beat up ass car that’s in my driveway and don’t come home tonight, I’m bringing a few guys over to drink and watch the game. Actually, don’t come home any night. It’s fucking embarrassing having a shit stain like you as a son, you know how many people feel sorry for me for that? And don’t come crawling back to me when you get AIDS from one of your whores.”_

*beep beep beep*

Takeshi Souda abruptly hung up, leaving his son in absolute shock and despair. 

Rantaro seemed to sense that something was wrong and slowly approached the bench. 

“Kazuichi-”

The mechanic stood up and stormed into town, ignoring Rantaro completely, while a group of carefree college students laughed and sang in the distance. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shameless self promo for one of my tumblr blogs. Follow soudamstuffilike on tumblr to get notifications on when this baby updates! Thank you for reading <3 
> 
> (also ive never written smut and it shows)


	3. Getting by with a Little Help from your Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Johnny Rockets is a popular and delicious American diner and burger joint, and I’m sure everyone knows what Starbucks is.)

To the surprise of many, college was not something astronomically difficult for Kazuichi to get through. He’d already chosen his career path, unlike many of his peers, and excelled in it. What Kazuichi wished to pursue was mechanics, then eventually expanding his knowledge of robotics. Both were required to achieve his dream of building a rocket ship, and this was no issue. It was almost as if Kazuichi’s two hands were made to build and fix machines. This talent of his was the sole reason he was in college in the first place, since he’d received a scholarship for it back in high school. His family had never had much money to their name, and tuition would have just sapped every penny from the Soudas. But, with the scholarship, a great deal of possible money troubles were spared of the poor family. However, attending a college as acclaimed as Kazuichi’s was simply not possible on scholarships alone. 

Takeshi Souda had maliciously complied to paying what little the college asked of him, which included commodities such as books and a small fraction of the tuition. But after financially cutting off his son, the money used to perform these transactions was spent on whiskey and escorts. 

The genius mechanic himself mulled over this information for a week on his best friend Hajime Hinata’s couch, which Hajime so graciously allowed him to sleep on. It had indeed been about a week since the life-ruining phone call with Kazuichi’s father, but it felt more like a year to Kazuichi. Luckily, the students attending Hope’s Peak University were currently on a two-week spring break, which slightly lessened Kazuichi’s stress load concerning money and school, but also left the pressing feeling that the break was just prolonging the inevitable. 

“I’m gonna get kicked out of college. Just kill me now.”

Kazuichi had also been saving up his cash, since it was all he had now that his e-wallet was nonexistent(not that it was ever much in the first place). But due to this, he had been forcing himself not to spend money on any cocaine. And although he was successful in the endeavor, he was experiencing _major_ withdrawal. 

Hajime sat on his bed a few feet away. His bedroom was large enough to hold both Kazuichi’s kitchen and living room. It had a bookshelf, a bathroom, a living space with a couch and coffee table, and even a mini fridge. More akin to a hotel suite than a young man’s bedroom, to be honest. 

“I’m really sorry, Kaz. Like I said earlier, my parents can easily pay your school bills and they love you so-”

“ _No_ , dude. We’ve talked about this, I always feel guilty and like I’m mooching, asking you guys for money all the time.”

The spiky haired brunette sighed. “You don’t ask us for help _nearly_ as much as you should.” He rose from his duvet and walked to the mini fridge, pulling out two bottles of Kazuichi’s favorite soda, Coca Cola. He then dropped one onto Kazuichi’s stomach. 

“Oof!”

“At least have one of these. I haven’t seen you eat at all today, might as well have a treat.”

The two had returned from a hospital visit earlier that week, having gone to examine Kazuichi’s head wound, much to Kazuichi’s dismay. It, thankfully, was not concussed, but just bruised. The doctor advised the mechanic to spend a few days resting to heal the wound and nothing more since it was only a simple bruise. 

“Thanks, Hajime. This really… means a lot to me.”

“No problem, soul friend. But you’re pretty stupid for not immediately coming here.”

“Yeah, yeah, heard it all before.” He twisted the bottle open, relishing in the satisfying sound and smell that only a newly opened bottle of Coke could produce. 

After the call, Kazuichi had spent the night at one of Rantaro’s friend’s apartments, not uttering a single word the entire night or morning other than a few “thank you’s”. The next morning, he left without having breakfast or saying goodbye, not there was anyone to say it too anyway, they’d all left for whatever work they did a couple hours prior. The mechanic decided to go back to his house only to fix Leon’s car, since the idiot just had to bust it and leave it at the hell house at _juuuust_ the right time. He got it done quickly, having gone unnoticed by his father’s friends or Takeshi himself. They were all passed out on the floor of the living room, thoroughly hung over from their wild night. When Kazuichi was ready to leave, he sent Leon a text to “get the car out of the fuckin’ driveway”, omitting the reason why. He’d taken an Uber to Hajime’s house afterwards, since a bus wouldn’t have driven him into Hajime’s beautiful gated neighborhood. 

Having to go back to the house so soon after the devastating message did nothing good for his mental state. He was already feeling increasingly depressed lately, and withdrawal was only making it worse, lessening his appetite as well. 

However, Hajime didn’t know about Kazuichi’s dirty little secret. 

_If he found out about that, I’d never hear the end of it._

“Kazuichi…”

_Imagine the look of shock and horror on his face._

“Kazuichi.”

_I’d never forgive myself-_

_“_ KAZUICHI!”

The mechanic quickly snapped out of his guilty trance, nearly spilling his Coke. “Geez, what?”

The brunette huffed and pushed Kazuichi’s legs to the side, taking a seat on the couch. “I kept calling you and you didn’t answer. You looked really… disoriented. I get that you’re still in shock, but shouldn’t you be used to your dad’s bullshit by now? I feel like there’s something more that’s going on here.”

Kazuichi’s heart skipped a beat. He needed to think of something, and fast. Perhaps… a half truth?

He laid down on the couch and rested his legs atop Hajime’s thighs. He then grabbed a nearby pillow and placed it over eyes so that Hajime couldn’t see his entire facial expression and sighed, before “admitting”, “It’s… about Leon.”

_I’m such a piece of shit._

Hajime furrowed his eyebrows and turned away from Kazuichi. “Leon, huh?”

“Yeah. It’s just that with everything that I’m going through, instead of being there for me, he’s been with Sayaka. And I know that I haven’t told him about my dad kicking me out and cutting me off, but it’s like he’s been ignoring everything else just so that he can smash Sayaka.”

“Everything else? What’s everything else?”

“T-That’s not important right now. What I’m trying to say is, I feel like Leon’s abandoned me.”

It wasn’t technically a lie, but it wasn’t one hundred percent true, either. Yes, Leon had been around less since he and Sayaka got together, but Leon had liked Sayaka for years and finally had a chance with her, which Kazuichi completely understood. After all, he’d had his fair share of pining over a girl in high school as well. Kazuichi had indeed felt a little abandoned by Leon in the beginning, but it was only because he wasn’t used to not having him around all the time. In fact, more than anything, Kazuichi was extremely happy that Leon finally got his dream girl. The mechanic had drugs and sexy guys from Triple X to keep him company anyway. He also had Hajime there to talk to and always have his back, yet here he was practically lying to Hajime’s face.

The brunette’s expression fell and he clenched his teeth. “Damn Leon. He’s always cared about girls way more than his friends. You know you can always count on me, though, right? If Leon wants to ditch you for Sayaka, let him. It’s probably best for the both of you, anyway.”

The mechanic felt his face heat up in shame as he hid the rest of it with the pillow. “Thanks, dude.”

“Anytime.”

***

_I-I can’t.... fucking take it anymore._

_I need… just a little, nothing too special._

_Feels like I’m going_ **_insane_** _…_

*honk*

“Get off the road, you fucking moron!!”

Kazuichi was suddenly pulled from his internal hell as an extremely pissed off lady swerved around him and nearly crashed into a nearby convertible. He was now fully aware of his surroundings, which consisted of a busy street since he was standing in the middle of a crosswalk, which very visibly aggravated many drivers. He quickly scurried to the sidewalk, not wishing to anger those who could easily flatten him with their automobiles. 

Once the danger had passed, Kazuichi continued on his quest to find his dealer. Resisting the temptation to illy spend his rapidly dwindling supply of cash had been easy enough at first, but it had been eight days now and Kazuichi was miserable and desperate. The withdrawal had drained his willpower and driven him mad. The mechanic maneuvered through familiar twisted alleyways hoping that he was on the job at such an early hour. Dealers in the downtown area usually came out around seven o’clock in the evening, and it was currently five forty. Nevertheless, Kazuichi continued on his likely to be futile search.

An obvious solution in almost any other case of trying to find someone would be to call them, but unfortunately his dealer refused to let his customers get his contact information. Something about “orders from his boss”.

His head was throbbing and his body had started to shake as he made it to the usual spot, the dumpster behind the Johnny Rockets. Despite the smell, the location was more than ideal since it wasn’t well lit and the constant activity around the diner discouraged the homeless from stealing product that was being traded. Much to Kazuichi’s dismay, the only presence there belonged to a stray cat, which Kazuichi had learned to avoid after attempting to pet it a few times and nearly getting mauled to death. He leaned against the wall, head in his hands, practically ready to give up, until he abruptly realized exactly where his dealer would be. Kazuichi ignored his body’s protests and ran to the Starbucks only about a block away.

He was almost at the entrance when he saw him, about to enter with a spring in his step and a smile on his face. He calmed his breathing and panted, “Hajime gave his shift to someone else for the night. You won’t be able to see him today.”

The young man’s face fell for a moment before he smiled brightly once more. “Well, that is disappointing, but seeing your face has filled me with hope, Kazuichi! I haven’t seen you all week, I was wondering where my best customer went.” He sat at an empty table outside the establishment and motioned for Kazuichi to join him, which he willingly obliged.

“Look Nagito, I know it’s not time for you to sell yet, but I _really_ need your help here.”

A light breeze blew fluffy white locks into Nagito Komaeda’s face as he apologized, “Sorry Kazuichi, even if you have the money I just didn’t bring any product with me. Also, where have you been lately? It’s unlikely for you to abstain for so long. It’s like all the hope has been drained from your eyes.” He laced his fingers together. 

_Should I really tell_ this guy _out of all people? I mean, he_ has _given me awesome discounts before…_

_Ah, fuck it._

Kazuichi gave a brief explanation of his situation to his odd dealer, leaving out all the personal details. The dealer grew wide eyed and worried, less about Kazuichi’s financial status and more about how devoid of hope his life currently was. After he’d finished, the mechanic was tired. It was mentally exhausting to have to retell his depressing tale. 

“I’m very sorry to hear that, Kazuichi. Your financial situation seems very serious, have you tried job-hunting?”

Face slightly heating up in shame, the mechanic internally cursed himself and his habits. “I have, but… none of them pay enough.”

“Your schooling is mostly paid for and you’re only one person, is rent really that expensive around here?”

“N-no, it’s just that… it’s enough money to live, but not enough to buy cocaine. I’d have to either use to the money for rent and living expenses, or school and drugs, and I really can’t choose between the two.”

It was true. Kazuichi felt like a freeloader just lounging at Hajime’s house, so he went job-hunting the whole week that he was under his care. Finding a decently paying job that he could just get by on was simple, but a respectable job with benefits and a good salary was more than impossible. After all, he was still a student that had yet to graduate and earn his degrees. For now, all he was armed with were his good looks, a high school diploma, and a real knack for mechanics. A high paying job was absolutely essential for Kazuichi’s habits, and a part-time job at a fast food restaurant or auto body shop just wouldn’t cut it, and he knew this for a fact based on what Hajime told him about working at Starbucks. Truthfully, the brunette had only started working at the popular coffee chain so that he’d have an excuse to see a certain fluffy haired cutie that sold dope several times a week, but Kazuichi didn’t really want to get involved with that.

Nagito cast his gaze downward. He’d seen many of his customers lose everything to drugs, including themselves, and he dreaded seeing it happen to Kazuichi. His eyes were always so filled with hope, possibly for a better future, and he hated seeing Kazuichi without it. Nagito decided that right then and there, he was going to do his best to restore that hope. 

“Work for my boss.”

“...”

“What?”

“Work for my boss, he’ll pay you very well if he likes you. You’ve already been such a loyal customer and despite being an addict, you’re a decently functioning person. I’m sure he’ll have some sort of job for someone like you.”

_I can almost never tell if this guy is actually complimenting me or not._

“You’re asking me if I wanna become a gang member?”

“It doesn’t seem as though you have many other options.”

The mechanic clenched his teeth. Nagito was right, he didn’t have any room to be picky at the moment. All rational thought left his brain. Right now, he just needed to ensure a reliable source of drug money. 

And he’d be damned if he didn’t.

“Take me to your guy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise the entire story isn't this slow, lol. Follow soudamstuffilike on tumblr!


	4. Finding a Missing Piece

Morals hadn’t exactly been an enforced teaching in Kazuichi’s childhood. In fact, the only moral influences he’d ever had had been from his elementary school teachers, and even they weren’t huge advocates of doing the right thing. Not in Kazuichi’s eyes, at least, and for good reason, since despite the fact that they spoke so adamantly about using good manners and being kind to your neighbors, they always turned a blind eye to the harassment and maltreatment of young Kazuichi by his schoolmates. But even then, perhaps due to human nature or otherwise, the mechanic had always been perfectly capable of discerning right from wrong. 

And in this case, Kazuichi _definitely_ knew that what he was doing was wrong. 

His head was spinning at the thought that he could possibly get a taste of the powder he’d sorely missed during the week, and withdrawal was only contributing to the haze. Cigarette and marijuana smoke, along with exhaust, dumpster garbage, and occasionally sewage, all wafted throughout the shady alleyways, concocting a classic big-city smell recognizable everywhere from Boston to Tokyo. Wind tunnels formed and sent breezes that chilled Kazuichi to the bone, the only nearby source of warmth being a barrel fire surrounded by some of the city’s most unfortunate souls. 

Nagito’s strides were much too quick for Kazuichi to easily keep up with, not because he was an inherently fast walker, but because the mechanic’s brain was currently a needy, deprived mush. He had no idea where Nagito was leading him; there was even a possibility that this was all a trap and Kazuichi could end up in a bathtub full of ice with a kidney missing. But at this point, he didn’t really care either way. 

Besides, he’d already lost a great deal. What would a kidney or a few pints of blood be?

Nagito eventually slowed his strides in front of an old, abandoned looking warehouse near the industrial side of town, where there was little public activity. The warehouse blended in with all of the unfinished buildings, cranes, and cargo containers ready to be sent out to sea. The bay was visible from where the two young men were standing, still and black like pure ink. 

Its calm and unaffected appearance baffled Kazuichi. He could not comprehend how something could be so at peace while his own life and mind were in such constant turmoil. 

He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard Nagito’s voice. He pulled out a card and faced the warehouse’s rusty, weathered entrance, reciting the password, “Jabberwock.”

The sound of rust scraping against itself and the concrete disturbed Kazuichi’s ears, causing him to cringe a little. A large man, about twice Kazuichi’s size, appeared in the doorway and lit up upon seeing Nagito’s face. He clapped a beefy hand on Nagito’s weak shoulder, nearly knocking him over. His booming voice startled Kazuichi as he exclaimed, “Ah, back early, are ya? I just finished training with Akane, but we’re always up for round two if you wanna join us. That is, if I get to take a shit first.” His deep and hearty laugh sounded throughout the entire warehouse, ceasing as the man took notice of Kazuichi. He curiously eyed him and questioned, “Who’s your friend?”

Kazuichi froze in place and panicked. This did _not_ look like the kind of guy that he wanted to piss off. He appeared to be the type who would break your legs if you so much as said something slightly irritating, which was conveniently one of Kazuichi’s worst habits. The mechanic let his nerves take over and stuttered, “U-uh, u-u-um-”

“Oh, he’s one of our best customers, here to see the boss. Kazuichi, this is Nekomaru, Nekomaru, this is Kazuichi. Quite the wimp, isn’t he?”

Kazuichi ignored the wimp comment and silently thanked God that Nagito had come to his rescue. But the relief was short lived as Kazuichi noticed Nekomaru’s large beefy hands pulling him into a headlock-

“Ah, so Kazuichi’s the name! Y’know, if you train with Akane and me once a day, your wimpy days will be no more! It’s great to meet’cha!”

Kazuichi flinched, fear transitioning into confusion as he was ferociously noogied by Nekomaru Nidai. He attempted to free himself from the embrace, but was weak from withdrawal(not that actually he’d be able to do it otherwise). Nagito came to the mechanic’s rescue for the third time tonight by warning Nekomaru, “If you keep him in that headlock for much longer, he won’t be alive to train.”

The comment brought Nekomaru back to his senses and he released Kazuichi, who fell to his knees, wheezing and gasping for air as the bulky giant apologized, “Sorry, haha! Don’t worry Nagito, he’ll be ready to train in no time! Here, I’ll escort you two to the boss.”

The odd pair of gangsters helped Kazuichi to his feet and slow his breathing. Once he was deemed well enough to meet their boss, Nekomaru leisurely made his way to the leader’s office. Many of their colleagues took notice of the obvious druggie in violent pink and stared, even glared. It became clear to Kazuichi that he was seen as an outsider here and rightfully so, since it was extremely evident that he was not one of them and suffering a dry spell. But Nagito and Nekomaru seemed to take no notice of this and continued to walk at a comfortable pace and make casual conversation with Kazuichi. This did nothing to lift the mechanic’s stress as the louder the muscled man was, the more attention he drew. Men and women covered in tattoos who looked as if they’d spent their childhood in prison took drags from their cigarettes and stared. Just stared. None of them tried to speak to him or even commented about his presence. Once they were out of the crowded aisles, Kazuichi spoke up.

“S-so like, I know I stick out big time, and I get why they’re staring, but… why is nobody saying anything? You’d think they’d at least have some questions for one of us.”

Nagito pondered for a second and laughed lightly. “Ah, I’d bet it was because they heard Nekomaru say that we were going to see the boss. Nobody ever questions someone who has business with the boss.” A draft blew a few strands of hair into Kazuichi’s face as the trio approached rusty double doors. 

“What? There’s no way they could’ve heard. I was only talking to you guys!”

“You tend to speak very loudly, Nekomaru.”

“No way, I’ve never noticed!”

“Ah, please lower your voice. You know loud noises put the boss on edge.”

“RIGHT! Oh, sorry, I mean, right.”

Kazuichi’s heart nearly pounded out of his chest while they approached two smartly dressed guards standing at what was very likely the office of a powerful gang leader. It would take dunking them into a bucket of water to make the mechanic’s palms wetter. Nekomaru gave the two others an encouraging thumbs up and quickly strode to the restroom nearby, while Nagito smiled and faced the guards, calmly reciting the password, “Natsumi.” 

Nodding at each other, the guards stepped aside and slowly pulled the double doors open, revealing a makeshift office consisting of a black folding table as a desk with papers neatly piled across it illuminated by a reading lamp, with a mini fridge in the corner and a spinning office chair faced opposite of them. The rusty double doors scraped far too gratingly for Kazuichi’s liking as they closed, and he prayed that Nagito would once again come to his rescue and do all the talking. He’d never met anyone with as much power as a gang leader had before, and the thought that if he displeased him, the leader could have him sold or murdered and no one would ever even know, crossed his mind way too vividly for him to handle.

To Kazuichi’s relief, Nagito had once again taken the initiative to speak first and broke the deafening silence. “Boss, I believe I have a new recruit for you to consider. He is a very valued customer.”

At this, the chair lazily spun to face the young men, and at seeing the gang leader’s face, Kazuichi’s jaw dropped.

“ _Fuyuhiko?!_ ”

“ _Kazuichi?!_ ”

“Ah, it seems you’ve met before, I suppose that would make the recruiting process much eas-”

“ _Where. The hell._ HAVE YOU BEEN?”

***

“...”

Nagito had taken it upon himself to fix drinks for the long lost friends from what he could find in the office’s mini fridge, purposefully choosing to mix a rum and cola for the mechanic in pink. He’d done it as quietly as humanly possible so as not to disturb the reunion. Of course, he normally would have done so to not bother anyone with his presence, but he’d never seen so much hope in his boss’s eyes before, and he was determined to keep it there.

Kazuichi had hardly touched his rum and cola through the duration of his and Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu’s reunion, instead drinking in everything the blonde had to say. And while the blonde had so much to say that it was completely dark outside by the time he had finished, the mechanic was left almost speechless.

Determined to not leave his friend hanging, he sipped his carefully concocted drink and managed, “So… that’s how you ended up here. Damn, I never knew.”

The young mafia boss chuckled dryly. “Yup. Even back then, my parents and I were constantly working together to fuck up my life, huh?”

Although Kazuichi had been waiting years to finally see Fuyuhiko and learn of what had happened to him, the answer he received was a bit much for him to handle, especially since his brain was a deprived mush.

Around five years ago, at the beginning of Kazuichi’s junior year of high school, one of his best friends, Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu, suddenly disappeared. It was as if he’d dropped off the face of the Earth. He stopped contacting his friends, going to school, and shops he frequented missed his presence. But, the one who missed it most of all, was a lonely mechanic whose only other friends went to another high school to fulfill a baseball scholarship or attended a wealthy private school. He and Fuyuhiko had been inseparable since the sixth grade, and he’d known all about his friend’s yakuza background, often having visited his beautiful house in order to escape his father’s wrath, but never truly knew the specifics about the disappearance, and it killed him. He’d formulated his own theories with time, the most terrifying ones being that the young boy was assassinated by a rival clan, sold off by his family to pay off debts, or sent out of the country to avoid detainment. Those thoughts never truly left his mind, since as time passed and the pain dulled, Kazuichi’s train of thought would occasionally wander to his missing half. The despair of losing his cherished friend without explanation or consolation was a fair contributor to the mechanic’s choice to indulge in cocaine.

The petite blonde’s much anticipated explanation for this was that his parents had forcefully removed him from his high school and cut off his social life after he had continually refused to do anything his father told him to and attempted to free the family bodyguard and assassin. Despite this, Fuyuhiko had stood his ground and disobeyed his father at every chance he got. Kareki Kuzuryuu had eventually gotten fed up with his son and, according to yakuza tradition, attempted to sever his son’s pinky finger, but nicked his right eye as Fuyuhiko struggled to get away, resulting in the young Kuzuryuu having to wear an eye patch for the rest of his life. The gangster had had enough of his family and the burdens their name carried and, with the help and support of his twin sister and personal bodyguard, escaped and successfully started his own mafia business. He’d have preferred to pursue other fields, but mafia work was all he knew. 

Kazuichi wasn’t surprised that the Kuzuryuus would do such a thing to their own son or that his best friend actually went and nearly single handedly constructed one of, if not the most, powerful and influential mafias in the city, but it had always angered him that Fuyuhiko was forced into these dangerously tight situations. He was always able to relate to some high degree. However, Kazuichi’s initial shock and anger at Fuyuhiko’s parents dissipated as he realized that he had finally found his Baby Gangsta.

“Y’know, despite everything that’s happened to you, you’re still the tough mouthy brat you’ve always been.”

The former Kuzuryuu successor smiled as he brought a glass of his favorite Old Fashioned to his lips. “And you’re still the pink haired pussy.”

***

The clock chimed midnight as the best friends laughed and joked as if they hadn’t been sixteen the last time they saw each other. Nagito had lingered behind to relish in the hope that practically radiated off the young men under the guise of pouring them drinks and bringing them snacks. Word began to spread among the members of the Dynamo mafia that the wimpy looking druggie kid had been in the boss’s office for hours, and no one could figure out why. 

The mechanic and the gangster shared every story they’d had to tell, even the ones each of them already knew. Kazuichi was having the most fun he’d had since Fuyuhiko disappeared and never wanted it to end, but Fuyuhiko suddenly grew quiet as Nagito placed a bowl of fat white grapes on his temporary desk.

He stared at the grapes for a few moments before asking, “Say, Kazuichi, it’s not like I’m not glad to see you or that I want to you leave or anything, but… why the hell are you here in the first place?”

It was at this moment that Kazuichi remembered and realized that his life was not a perfect fantasy world of rum, cola, snacks, and best friends, but a hellhole of meaningless sex, family dysfunctionality, and drug abuse.

Hoping to evade the inevitable question, the mechanic glanced towards his dealer for help. But he simply smiled and shook his head, silently encouraging Kazuichi to save himself for the first time that night. _Damn._ He clenched his fists and took a deep breath, bracing himself for the painful explanation.

“I need a job.”

“You need… a job.”

“W-well, n-not just a job… a well-paying job that will…”

“Go on.”

He took in another deep breath, only slower this time.

_Well, here goes._

_***_

“He _WHAT?!_?”

“Geez, why do you seem so surprised?”

“I’m less ‘surprised’ and way fucking more pissed off!”

The mafia boss slammed his fist into the rickety table. “How fucking dare he?!”

“Look, it’s already said and done, there’s really no reason to get mad over-”

“You think your dirty rotten bastard of a father is the only reason I’m pissed?! You and I shook on it, in junior fucking year, that we wouldn’t get involved in any druggie shit!”

“That was _years_ ago!”

“Oh, so because something happened ‘ _years ago_ ’, it doesn’t mean anything?”

“You know that’s not what I meant!”

“Then what _did_ you mean, Kazuichi? Fucking enlighten me.”

Kazuichi was silent for a few moments, not entirely sure himself what he meant by that. He knew that Fuyuhiko would react this way, they were still best friends, even after all these years. The blonde was also raised by a treacherous mafia family, so promises were just that much more important to him.

But so much had happened since they shook hands after gym class in the boys’ locker room. Too much, in fact.

The mechanic sighed, breaking the tense silence between the two young men, and leaned his head into his hands. “Fuyuhiko, I… I’m so-”

Fuyuhiko held up his hand. “No, _I’m_ sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that. I mean, I’m never gonna agree with the fact that you do lines, but I haven’t been there to witness what you’ve been going through these past years with that asshat.” He sighed and massaged his temples. “And I mean, I’d much rather send you to rehab than encourage you, but I really do need another friend around here to keep me from going insane. And if I have to pay you for it, then no problem.” He stood from his swivel chair and extended his hand. “So, are we good?”

Kazuichi ignored the hand and instead went straight for a hug. “Duh.”

The hug caught Fuyuhiko off guard for a moment, but was soon hugging Kazuichi back while the two men wore matching grins.

After five painfully long years, his Baby Gangsta was finally back in his life.

“So,” the mechanic started, “Have you fucked Peko yet?”

Kazuchi then proceeded to stuff his face with grapes while being cussed out by a very small mafia boss.

Returning from his spot against the wall, Nagito refilled the nearly empty glasses threatening to slip off the desk and moved them to a safer place, while the young men bonded. He glanced at his watch, which read 1:12 am.

He could practically feel the pure, unadulterated hope radiating off the young men. 

_All in a day’s work_ , he smiled to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The exposition is almost over! Plot awaits...


	5. Getting Down to Business

“Damn, you really haven’t changed _at all._ ”

“Good to see you too, Natsumi.”

The afternoon’s light poured in through the balcony’s French doors, illuminating Natsumi Kuzuryuu’s neat blonde hair, making it so that the strands almost glowed in the living room. It was very poshly decorated, akin to that of a Pinterest post showcasing ideas for interior decor. Every piece of furniture followed a strict color scheme, making the arrangement of them appear to have been chosen by the best decorators in the business. It was very professional, very Natsumi. 

Kazuichi smiled and released himself from the embrace the two had greeted each other in and went straight for the French doors, gazing through the spotless glass and admiring the clear, blue sky. 

“You like my place?”

“It’s alright.”

“Shut up, you love it.”

She strode toward her kitchen counter and picked up a bag of sunflower seeds, then joined her brother’s old friend by the French doors. “Wanna share them on the terrace? I know you like the jalapeño flavored ones.”

“You live on the, what, fourteenth floor? Yeah, I’d rather not go out and see a fourteen story drop to my death.”

“If you keep being lame, I’m gonna have to force you outside.”

Kazuichi froze, knowing exactly what the young Kuzuryuu intended to do to him. 

She discarded the seeds and placed her hands on Kazuichi’s hips, slowly rubbing up and down, whispering in his ear, “I remember…” 

The mechanic’s breath hitched, terrified of what was to come. 

“Where you like to be tickled!”

“Nooooo!”

Natsumi danced her fingers across Kazuichi’s stomach and hip area, causing him to tear up and laugh hysterically. She expertly rubbed and grazed her nails exactly where his most sensitive spots were, having learned them long ago from when the young man would visit her parents’ house to see her twin. She had always played a bit rough with him when they were children. “Surrender!”

He’d reached his tickling breaking point, laughs transitioning into yelps. “Okay, okay! I surrender, uncle, uncle!” At last, Natsumi had shown him mercy and removed her hands, triumphantly retrieving her seeds and pushing open the French doors while Kazuichi slowed his breathing and wiped his tears, following not so close behind. 

They each took a seat under the parasol table on cushy fashionable chairs, just enjoying the light breeze and each other’s company for a few moments. 

Kazuichi’s mood and well being had skyrocketed in the past day and a half. Last night, after he and his best friend finished catching up, Fuyuhiko reluctantly offered Kazuichi a more watered down and less potent cocaine than he was used to(the kind used to rehabilitate addicts), but the mechanic gratefully accepted it without hesitation. His withdrawal symptoms melted away, almost as if they were only a dream. 

Today he was in high spirits. He still hadn’t chosen a job, since he still wary of joining a literal mafia, best friends with its leader and his twin sister or not. 

Fuyuhiko had mentioned that Natsumi had just recently moved into this part of town, and that if Kazuichi wanted to see her, that she’d be in the Hope’s Peak Apartment Skyscraper(which he’d recently bought out), room eleven zero three seven on the fourteenth floor. 

And although the fourteen story height made him dizzy, seeing Natsumi for the first time in five years made him even dizzier. In their younger years, Kazuichi had had an extremely obvious crush on Fuyuhiko’s twin, and she never let him forget it. It seemed as though Kazuichi had a thing for elegant blondes. 

However, the dizziness was the good kind. 

Natsumi pushed her seeds toward Kazuichi, silently encouraging him to try some. He did just that, and promptly spit them out in disgust. 

“Ugh! What even are these?!”

“Extra spicy sriracha flaming hot jalapeño seeds!”

“Seems more like _you’re_ the one who hasn’t changed at all.”

The blonde simply smiled innocently and tucked a lock of silky blonde hair behind her ear. 

_Wow._

The youngest Kuzuryuu had always been beautiful, just like her mother. Her cunning blue eyes and golden hair, paired with fair skin kept clear with the finest creams and scrubs, along with her sharp wit and kind intentions had Kazuichi smitten from the end of elementary school to the end of middle school. He’d never had the confidence to actually try to start anything, even after she eventually noticed his constant heart eyes and deep blushes. Despite this, they’d remained friends through and even after the crush. In the present day, as nervous as he was, Kazuichi was nothing but happy to finally see his Natsumi-chan after so many years. 

Her smile was now directed towards him, but faltered and formed more a neutral expression. She then took the opportunity to have her inevitable question answered, bluntly asking, “Drugs, huh?”

He felt a pang of guilt in his heart. 

“He told you?” It was more of a statement than a question. 

“Not everything, but the main gist.” Her delicate hands reached for his and lightly caressed them. “What the hell’s happened to all of us since high school?”

At this, Kazuichi went silent. It wasn’t a question he was qualified enough to answer. Instead, he changed the subject. 

“Speaking of high school, is there anyone besides Peko that you still talk to?”

Peko had returned from her post at the mafia’s other secret base that night, the only big change about her being the size of her chest. As delighted as she was to see Kazuichi again, she was still the stony faced bodyguard she’d always been. She’d also been the one to drive the mechanic to the apartments, but had to leave in order to fulfill one of Fuyuhiko’s reluctant missions for her. The mafia boss’s soft spot for the former assassin had only grown and deepened since the mechanic last saw his best friend. 

“Actually, there is someone, I can even call her over right now.”

“Really? I’d love to see someone else from high school, who is it?”

***

Kazuichi was conflicted. 

He’d been told many times before by his few friends that he was a clingy guy when it came to romantic crushes, but had never really listened to such criticisms until high school, in his second year. Kazuichi was the type to fawn over girls he liked and make his feelings for them overtly obvious, and he didn’t see a problem with it since Natsumi had always found it funny and teased him playfully or harshly about it whenever the chance came. But in high school, upon entering his classroom with mild enthusiasm and an anxiously thumping heart, he spotted her. _A beautiful princess_ , he thought at first glance. Her face was decorated with a sweet smile and light makeup, which softened her features and accentuated her bright blue eyes. Long blonde hair fell to her waist, braided at the top behind her soft bangs, and kept in place by gravity and a sparkly dark teal bow. Hands folded in her lap, she sat at her desk with posture fit for royalty.

However, after one whole year of his youth spent pining for this dream princess and being called out by Fuyuhiko and Hajime(who went to private school), the one who snapped him out of his dopamanic trance was the dream princess herself, Sonia Nevermind. She’d finally had enough of not-so-politely rejecting his adamant advances, and invited him to a coffee shop to very efficiently crush his dreams of ever romancing her by telling him that she had feelings for a friend of hers that tended to and breeded animals at a different high school.

This encounter, however, proved to have affected him much more positively than negatively in the long run. After finally giving the lovely young girl some space out of shame and embarrassment, she took it upon herself to befriend the sulking teen. She’d found him much more tolerable now that he wasn’t constantly making heart eyes at her, and they’d become friends within a few weeks and throughout the rest of high school, but lost touch shortly after graduating.

Making a new friend wasn’t the only benefit that Sonia’s tongue lashing provided, though. It, for the most part, raised Kazuichi’s awareness of his clingy nature when it came to crushes and resulted in him taking a step back when it came to romantic, or more recently, sexual advances. He’d even stopped going after girls and decided to experiment with his sexuality, and found out that he liked guys _and_ girls, and most importantly, that guys were much more likely to approach him than girls were. 

The mechanic found it much more fun to be pursued than to pursue anyway. 

Despite this, Kazuichi was still slightly unsure of how he should feel about his situation. After all, he’d had only two major crushes in his life, and now both were hugging each other in the same room. 

“It is very good to see you, Natsumi! Have you been in good health?”

“Sonia, I saw you literally eight days ago, my cold has been gone ever since then.”

“Well, I still like to ask about how you’ve been. You said there was someone here that I had to see?”

Natsumi simply smirked and stood to side so that she was no longer blocking Sonia Nevermind’s view of Kazuichi. Upon realizing that her old friend was indeed in the same room, her face lit up as she practically jumped on him, giving him an unbelievably strong bear hug for someone her size. “Kazuichi! Oh, Kazuichi, how long has it been?”

The mechanic, after nearly getting knocked off his feet, returned the hug with the same passion and fervor, forgetting his previous awkwardness. He smiled into her shoulder, mumbling, “Too long.”

They broke the embrace and took a seat on one of Natsumi’s velvet loveseats. Sonia motioned for their hostess to join them, inviting, “Come, Natsumi.”

She joined in on the smiling fest. “After I prepare snacks and tea.”

Kazuchi tensed. “Y-you’re not gonna bring out those seeds again, are you?”

The young Kuzuryuu’s once loving smile twisted into a smirk. “You’ll see.”

_Oh no._

_***_

“Oh Kazuichi, I’m so sorry.”

“Yeah, even after hearing that story a second time, it still brings me despair.”

“Heh, yeah, things have been pretty shitty lately. Until yesterday anyway, when I saw Fuyuhiko again.”

“He wouldn’t shut up about your guy’s night yesterday. And also, no, he hasn’t fucked Peko yet.”

“Figures.”

“Fuyuhiko has always been a little timid when it comes to Peko,” Sonia chuckled lightly.

Kazuichi sipped his green tea and looked at Sonia for a moment, curiosity in his eyes. “Say, Sonia, how’d you and Natsumi keep in touch after all this time?”

Sonia turned her head, surprised at the question. “Did no one tell you? I’m a member of the Dynamo mafia!”

A dramatic spit take orchestrated by Kazuichi Souda promptly followed Sonia’s response.

“The fuck? This rug cost me a nut and a half!” 

“You WHAT?!”

“I joined after I finished high school. At first, I joined because of the twins, but I stayed because I reconnected with a high school friend who loves and cherishes the occult just as much as I do!”

“...”

_She really hasn’t changed at all._

“Damn, I guess I’ll clean the rug myself.”

Kazuichi pondered on what Sonia had said as Natsumi stomped over to a nearby closet to retrieve what seemed to be cleaning supplies. He took another sip of his tea and asked, “So, who’s your occult freak? I don’t think I saw him yesterday night or at our old high school.”

“Oh, that’s because he attended a different high school and is currently on the other side of town, but he’ll be back before dinner. Fuyuhiko had ordered him to help guard one of our warehouses.”

She smoothed her skirt and smiled fondly. “His name is Gundham Tanaka.”

_Gundham Tanaka… never heard of him before. Maybe that’s a good thing if he likes occult stuff as much as Sonia does._

“Hey Kaz, I’d appreciate it if you got your ass down here to help me clean up your spit and leaf water.” 

“Oh, sorry about that.” She shot him a glare. 

“I’ll help you out.”

He walked to the closet where he saw Natsumi pick out her cleaning supplies and took what he thought would probably work. _Cleaning rag, spray bottle, Magic… Water? Yeah, that might be rug cleaner._ Armed with his household arsenal, he began to spritz and dab the spot on the carpet which he unintentionally ruined with the reluctant aid of the younger Kuzuryuu twin. 

Getting the stain out of the rug was easy since it was young, especially with the Magic Water, which Natsumi hadn’t commented on so it probably was indeed a rug cleaner. They were finished in under two minutes, and waited for the Magic Water to set and do the rest of the work. 

“Actually, speaking of Gundham, his car is currently in need of repairs after his last mission. I remember that you are quite a dab hand at mechanics, aren’t you Kazuichi?”

_Here we go again._

“Do you think you could…”

_Here it comes._

“Maybe…”

_It’s coming._

“ _Pleaaaase…_ ”

_Yup._

“Fix Gundham’s car?”

_It’s here._

“He’ll pay you handsomely, I promise. He’s a great worker, but also a great employer.”

Kazuichi paused mid-cheek scratch. “...Wait, he’ll pay me?!”

Sonia tilted her head in confusion. “Of course.”

Kazuichi typically only fixed automobiles for his friends and customers at his father’s shop, neither of which usually paid him; if they did, his father would keep the money from Kazuichi’s repairs and claim that it was his because he vehicle was fixed in his workshop. And if it were Leon’s car that was worked on, the baseball player would always see it as a favor he had to repay and wouldn’t consider payment. The thought that he could actually make some money off of his skill filled the mechanic with hope. 

“How much?”

“I think you’d have to negotiate and discuss that with Gundham, but he’s no cheapskate.”

_I_ **_really_ ** _need the money… Fuyuhiko’s rehab substitute powder won’t be enough for long…_

“Tell me where I can find him.”

***

Kazuichi felt chills travel up his spine as he hesitantly treaded through a dirty alleyway. Broken bottles crunched under his yellow Vans as his teeth chattered. The alleyway wasn’t particularly cold or breezy, but the little line that the mechanic had sniffed twenty minutes prior was making him feel jittery. It wasn’t enough to get him high, since he just wanted his nerves curbed for the job he was about to do. However, despite the small amount, the cocaine was giving him somewhat of a bad trip, which only worsened his anxiety. 

The tents and makeshift living spaces of the homeless lined the crumbling brick walls. The smell of marijuana, fire, and feces made Kazuichi nauseous. He kept his head down as an old man clothed with only a few raggedy garments openly defecated into a sewer grate. A lady who reeked of cat urine yelled at nothing in particular and grabbed a nearby syringe, most likely to insert it into her arm. 

Scenes like this were one of the main reasons Kazuichi continued to live with his father for so long. He couldn’t imagine ever living like this, even for a day. 

He was so preoccupied with keeping attention off of himself that he accidentally stepped on a line of cocaine that an obvious heroin addict was about to snort off the sidewalk. The man shouted incoherently, alerting the other homeless people and their dogs, which they kept for various reasons. Suddenly, Kazuichi was surrounded by angry druggies armed with broken glass, bats, and toothbrushes sharpened into shanks. He screamed as a man on the ground grabbed his ankle and prepared to bite it. Kazuichi panicked and kicked the man in the face, which only outraged the mob further. 

A woman covered in dirt and tattoos lifted a bat wrapped in what appeared to be barbed wire, and as she was about to strike Kazuichi’s head, two gunshots sounded throughout the homeless refuge and they all scattered. 

At the sound, Kazuichi had ducked and covered his ears, but lifted his head upon seeing that he was safe and no longer surrounded by bloodthirsty street dwellers. He noticed a muscular man stylishly dressed about twelve feet in front of him. 

He holstered his pistol and approached Kazuichi, censuring, “The Dark Lady did not inform me of how incompetent the mechanic she sent was.”

Still shaken by the homeless mob, Kazuichi could only stare at the devilishly handsome man with a surprisingly deep voice and weird diction. His long purple scarf dangled in front of the mechanic’s face and the man’s shiny black combat boots. 

“I hope you realize you are late.”

His hair was styled over his right eye, which was heterochromatically different from the other. It swayed slightly as the man tilted his head, arms crossed. His bare eyebrows furrowed as he examined Kazuichi. “Are you going to accompany me to my damaged vehicle or continue to waste time, mortal?”

_Mortal!? Who does this guy think he is?_

“Sorry, I’m just a bit screwed up from, I don’t know, almost getting _shanked_ by homeless people,” Kazuichi bit back. He’d only just met this guy and he’d already been insulted by him twice. Maybe it was just the cocaine, but Kazuichi was not in the mood to take bon mots from this guy without fighting back. 

The man raised his nonexistent eyebrows at Kazuichi’s remark, clearly not expecting him to have talked back. He opened his mouth, seemingly to retort, but instead turned his back and began to stride away. He turned his head toward the mechanic still crouched on the ground, upbraiding, “I do not have all day to listen to your asinine comments, Shark Toothed One. My transportation device is in need of repairs and my hellish beasts require sustenance.”

_Yup, leave it to Sonia to put me with a weirdass._

The mechanic stood up reluctantly and followed closely behind his temporary employer, ducking through and around unfamiliar streets and shops. Sonia’s claim that this guy was on the other side of the city was indeed correct. 

_What was this guy’s name supposed to be again, Gangnam Tank Engine?_

Even if the alleged occult lover hadn’t addressed Kazuichi as a mechanic, which implied that he was the one in need of his services, it would’ve been easy for Kazuichi to figure out who he was. His red contact and lens and edgy T-shirt made him easily identifiable as an occult freak, while the scar over his left eye and choice tattoos made it evident that he was a gangster. A Dynamo gangster, to be exact, since Fuyuhiko required all of his members to get the mafia’s emblem etched onto their left forearms(or left hip bones, if you were female). The mafia boss himself, however, only has a single Sharpie tattoo of the Dynamo insignia on his chest, which he has one of his members maintain. 

The gangster’s forearms were quite large, implying that he lifted weights often. _He must be some kind of bodyguard like Sonia mentioned_ , Kazuichi observed. His black T-shirt and ripped jeans hugged his built frame in a way that made the mechanic drool. He didn’t fit the type that Kazuichi would usually go for when searching for one night stands at Triple X, but if he wasn’t Sonia’s friend, Kazuichi would have already been throwing himself at the guy. 

The odd pair eventually arrived at a tattoo parlor that resided in a garage-esque building, with its door lifted only two feet above the ground and decorated in what Kazuichi assumed to be gang-related graffiti. A purple Maserati sat parked in front of the entrance, parking meter about to expire. 

“You have until the greedy machine of time and parking tickets deems my damaged vehicle unworthy of its space to repair it. Do this, and I will pay you handsomely.”

The parking meter ticked, leaving Kazuichi exactly thirty two minutes to fix whatever it was that prevented the Maserati from working. 

“You’re joking, right?”

“I do not ‘ _joke_ ’ mortal.”

Kazuichi defeatedly turned his head to the Maserati, then to the toolbox piled with assorted tools, and finally toward the parking meter. He sighed, walked to the sports car, and propped open the hood. 

_Damn it, Sonia._

_***_

He was in his element. Tool in hand, favorite jumpsuit on, sleeves off his arms and hanging around his waist for easier movement, the smell of oil on his hands. There were few places that raised Kazuichi’s spirits as much as in front of or under a car. He was making good time with the repairs, since cleaning a Maserati’s air filter was a quick fix. The clogged filter was depriving the engine of oxygen, causing the car to shake whenever its driver slowed to a stop, which was an issue since it can cause the engine to cease working properly. As the mechanic continued to clean, traffic and jaywalkers sounded right in his ear, and exhaust flooded his nostrils. But despite this, nothing this busy city street threw at him could possibly break his focus. 

Except for maybe the Maserati’s owner. 

He hadn’t taken his eyes off of Kazuichi once since he started work on the filter, not saying a word. He leaned against a nearby lamppost with his arms crossed, eyes slowly grazing over Kazuichi’s entire body, silently examining him. It bugged the mechanic, but he said nothing out of fear of annoying him and not getting paid. He just quietly hummed and attempted to finish his job as soon as he could without making a mistake. Sweat dripped down his forehead as he made some final adjustments. 

He panted lightly, breathing, “Say, Gangnam, you wouldn’t happen to have a rag or sumthin, would’ya?”

The man appeared startled as Kazuichi’s voice pulled him from his thoughts. “N-no. You need not such a thing, you are fine as you are.”

Kazuichi huffed. “What’s that supposed to mean? I’m soaked over here.”

“Also, what did you just… address me as, Shark Toothed One?”

“What did _I_ address _you_ as? What did _you_ address _me_ as? For the _second_ time?”

“I believe you called me by the silly name, ‘Gangnam’. That is, indeed, _not_ my name.”

“Well, _Shark Toothed One_ isn’t mine, either.”

A burst of zeal suddenly shot through the man. He adopted a wide stance and placed his hands on his hips, declaring, “From now on, you will address me Gundham Tanaka, The Forbidden One, Lord of Ice-”

“I’m not gonna call you _any_ of that shit.”

Gundham maintained his stance, relaxing only when Kazuichi turned away from him. “Tch, a pathetic mortal like you should be thankful that a god such as I is giving you such mercy…” Gundham retorted, trailing off as he distractedly watched Kazuichi bend over as one of his tools clattered to the ground. He stood back up slowly, arching his back as he stretched his slightly muscular arms, grunting quietly. Tool in hand, he begrudgingly wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. “Guess I should’ve just brought my own rag.”

Gundham remained silent, adopting an expression of speechlessness as Kazuichi pulled his black tank top over his head, exposing the golden skin of his chiseled back, and patted his face with the stretchy material. All of Gundham’s attention was now fixated on the mechanic’s body, his mouth open slightly. Kazuichi could practically feel the taller man’s gaze penetrating him from behind, which unnerved him a little. Normally, he loved nothing more than for a man as attractive as his temporary employer to be staring at him, but this time it was meddling with his concentration. But, since he was nearly finished with several minutes to spare on the meter, he resolved to endure it. 

He redirected his thoughts to yesterday’s reunion with Sonia Nevermind. _She really joined one of the most infamous mafias in the country just because her friends were in it…_ Kazuichi thought incredulously. _Almost can’t believe it._

Indeed, they both shared old friends that were Dynamo gangsters, and as tempting as it was to join because of Natsumi and Fuyuhiko, the mechanic just couldn’t get himself to say yes so easily. He had friends, an opportunity to make big money, and direct access to his favorite dealers. Just what was stopping him from becoming a Dynamo?

With a sense of satisfaction and finality, he slammed the Maserati’s hood shut after he finished his work, startling Gundham slightly. He gathered the tools he’d left in disarray around the car’s wheels and carefully placed them back into their box, being quite meticulous in arranging them neatly. He wasn’t a perfectionist by any means, but just stuffing tools wherever he could would always make his job harder the next time he needed them. Contently grinning, he shut the toolbox and thumbed the clasps down securely. All the while, he’d had a one man audience, intent stare locked on Kazuichi’s every move. 

Grin dissipating, the sweaty mechanic was at his wit’s end. 

“Y’know, I wasn’t gonna say anything until after I got paid, but… what’s with all the starin’? I mean, cleaning an air filter _really_ isn’t _that_ interesting to watch, man.”

Gundham looked affronted for a brief moment before blushing profusely and attempting to conceal it by hiding behind his superfluously long purple scarf. He stuttered, “I-I was not s-staring, you impertinent mechanic, I was simply…” He cleared his throat. “...admiring.”

“...”

It took a few seconds for Kazuichi to process what Gundham had just revealed to him.

“You mean you… liked what you saw?”

“That is correct.”

Kazuichi was moderately pissed off that the sole reason he was feeling uneasy all throughout his odd job was that his employer was ogling him. He decided to respond with a little sass.

“So, what, you wanna go out on cute little date or something?” The comment garnered the exact reaction Kazuichi had hoped for, flustery. 

“T-That was not my intention!”

“Sure it wasn’t, drama queen.”

“How _dare_ you refer to me, Tanaka the Forbidden One, Lord of Ice-”

A headache was beginning to manifest in the mechanic’s mind the longer he discoursed with Sonia’s old friend. “Okay, okay, look, I finished the job with time to spare, and now your car shouldn’t have any major issues, as long as you keep the air filter clean.” Exasperated, he ran his fingers through his hair and tilted his head upwards to make eye contact with Gundham. “So, can I get paid now?”

The taller man’s eyes lingered on Kazuichi’s for a bit, almost as if to savor a special moment, before breaking away as he fished in his pockets for a particularly thick wad of cash, neatly bundled and held together by a rubber band. He gave his Maserati a once over, then handed Kazuichi his earnings. The mechanic eagerly took the bundle, jaw dropping upon realizing exactly what Gundham had given him.

“This… this is…”

Mostly composed of fifty dollar bills, the money was enough for decent living expenses and bus tickets for a month, and more importantly, Kazuichi’s habit.

Gundham blushed lightly, loosening the scarf around his neck. “I-I was informed by the Dark Lady that you have been in need of this city’s currency, and… well… i-if you become my paid partner, I will be willing to pay you much more and very consistently.”

Despite his ecstatic state a few moments prior, Kazuichi went silent at this. He pondered for a second in slight disbelief, thumbing the dozens of fifties periodically. _Does he mean…?_

“So, you, uh… want to be my sugar daddy?”

“I suppose that would be an adequate way to phrase it.”

_No way._

“Okay.”

_What?!_

Gundham pulled out his smartphone, not attempting to hide his dorky grin. “Then I suppose it would be appropriate to establish some means of communication.”

Kazuichi followed in suit. “Sounds good.” _What?! No, not good! What am I even doing, I can’t be a sugar baby!_

They traded phone numbers, Gundham retrieving his tool box and suavely sliding into his obviously very expensive sports car. “Do you need to be escorted home, um…?”

“The name’s Kazuichi Soda. Nice to meet’cha?”

“Likewise.”

“And no, I can get home on my own, thanks for the offer.”

“Remember, if any shady mortals happen to unnerve or attack you, contact me and I will deal with it swiftly and efficiently.”

Kazuichi rolled his eyes, smiling. “Sure thing.”

Gundham smiled as well, sliding on a pair of black designer aviator sunglasses. “Good day to you.”

“You too.”

After a lock of the doors and a rev of the engine, Gundham sped off, leaving Kazuchi rather dumbfounded.

_Did i really just become that walking thesaurus’s sugar baby?! Am I insane?_

He glanced at the wad of cash still clutched tightly in his right hand, resolving to hide it in his jumpsuit before any gangsters tried to mug him for it. That’d only happened once before and was unsuccessful, but only because Rantaro was there to defend Kazuichi. He’d taken the assailant around the street corner, telling Kazuichi to make it home as fast as he could, which Kazuichi did. The attacker would always be seen loitering at a frozen yogurt shop, before permanently disappearing after that night. Rantaro claimed he’d only punched the guy a few times as a warning and never saw him after that, but his hands were a little too bloody for it to be only a few times. Kazuichi ignored this, however. All that mattered was that he was safe, and he felt very grateful to Rantaro. 

_I’m such a clubber and a druggie, surely that’s not sugar baby material?_

Still mostly unfamiliar with the area, Kazuichi made his way to a nearby underground Metro station to look for a map. He never liked subways that much; he’d found the city buses to be much more to his liking. People would pack closely together like sardines during the busy hours of the day, which would cause Kazuichi to become anxious. He’d been groped more times than he could count on one hand during these hours, being largely unable to pinpoint the perpetrator due to the variety of suspects squeezed into his personal bubble. Subways also went much too fast, a characteristic that Kazuichi simply could not overlook due to his motion sickness. Buses weren’t much better, but they were still an improvement nonetheless and didn’t require passengers to scale flights of stairs and escalators after being dropped off, and didn’t have any rats living in them(most of the time).

_But that guy obviously likes me, so if I keep my body looking nice he’ll probably overlook most things, right?_

He eventually arrived at the station, taking a deep breath as he stepped down the escalator, which was considerably faster than taking the stairs. There was hardly a trace of the homeless individuals who slept here in the earliest hours of the morning, only to be forced out by the city’s police force. Citizens disliked seeing the homeless camping in their beloved Metro station on the opinion that they were an eyesore and caused needless chaos and litter. And they were right, fights between the nomadic tent dwellers were common and they usually didn’t pay any mind to the dozens of trash cans dotted throughout the facility, but one could argue that this was because they were drugged up and had lost their grasp on society, ultimately turning them into nuisances. But either way, they discouraged citizens from using the train, limiting business. So naturally, they had to go.

_He’s crazy loaded too, so this will only be beneficial for me._

A large map of the surrounding area illuminated by fluorescent lights hung securely on the cool brick wall to Kazuichi’s left. At long last, he would have some perception of where he was. He hurried to the map, determined to get back to Natsumi’s apartment, where he was welcome to stay as long as he liked. An announcement for a departure downtown sounded out as an insouciant presence went unnoticed. 

_I mean, how bad can this possibly be?_

“You lost, Kazuichi?”

He jumped, bumping into the attractive man chuckling behind him. Kazuichi’s tension dissipated upon recognizing the voice attached to the startler, and turned his body to greet him. 

Pressing onto his ear, he groaned, “Did’ja really have to whisper that directly into my ear?”

Rantaro simply laughed, responding, “I just wanted to see your reaction. You’re always so dramatic.” He softened his smile and tilted his head toward Kazuichi. “It’s really cute.”

Blushing, the mechanic found himself to be too embarrassed to retort. Instead, he focused on his original goal. He turned to the map and pulled up his jumpsuit, admitting, “I am pretty lost. Do you happen to know where the hell we are?”

“Haha, of course.” He draped an arm over Kazuichi’s shoulders and pointed to the middle of the map. “We’re in the fourth Eastern Division, also known as Dynamo territory.” He appeared pissed off, but the look was gone as soon as it came. “You should watch out. This place is _crawling_ with Dynamo trash.”

Kazuichi chuckled nervously and loosened the neck of his tank top. _I thought Rantaro had nothing to do with the local gangs? I mean, he’s just a bartender._

“Some friends of mine have been treated pretty badly by Dynamos.”

_Oh._

“Come on, let’s get you where you need to go.” Grip tightening, Rantaro directed his(and Kazuichi’s) body toward the train ticket machine, about to step away as Kazuichi firmly stood his ground, preventing Rantaro from walking. 

“I-I’m only here for the map. I really… don’t like subways.”

Rantaro was surprised at this, staring at Kazuichi for a moment before laughing lightly. “Well, then I suppose it’s good luck that I came here by car.”

Kazuichi’s face lit up, causing Rantaro’s grin to deepen. 

“Shall we?”

***

Skyscrapers blended into the night sky as they sped down the highway that circled the city. The view was amazing, city lights sparkling like stars, covered in a blanket of real stars, all illuminated by the full moon. They were close enough to see the city as more than a blur, but far enough away to not be bombarded by its smells or sounds. Rantaro had chosen this highway not only for its scenery, but to escape the burdens of tedious traffic and oblivious pedestrians.

As charming as the view was, Kazuichi also had to appreciate his means of transportation. He’d expected a more humble car from Rantaro, but he claimed that it belonged to a friend. Surrounded by comfortable black leather and crisp sound from the highest quality speakers, Kazuichi was enchanted. Such luxuries were only ever available to him through being in Hajime’s company, but he’d never rode in a vehicle as suave as this, save for the Hinata family’s several limousines. The ride was silent, as both parties were quite exhausted, lacking Kazuichi’s typical chattiness. Leaning back in his seat, he allowed himself to relax as the smell of eucalyptus and lavender lulled him to sleep.

The moment of blissful peace was broken as Rantaro almost whispered, “Kazuichi, I think I saw you in front a Dynamo tattoo parlor earlier today. That was someone else, right?”

_Oh shit._

The question snatched away any desire the mechanic held for rest. Rantaro had an odd temper and a clear distaste for Dynamos, and admitting that he bought drugs from them, was close friends with their most powerful members, had helped one out of his own free will, and became his sugar baby would definitely set him off. So, Kazuichi lied.

“N-No, I was at… a club.”

Which was a skill he was less than proficient at.

Rantaro’s grip on the leather clad steering wheel tightened as he disclosed, “That part of town is entirely Dynamo territory, especially the clubs, which is why no one you know from Triple X hangs around there.” With a counterclockwise turn of its knob, Rantaro lowered the volume of the music until the only voice he could hear was Kazuichi’s. His expression was gradually becoming increasingly somber.

“I-I didn’t know…”

The car slowed to a stop as the intersection’s traffic light glowed red. Rantaro sighed, hiding his face in his hand. “I know… you just really need to be more careful. That doppelganger I saw in front of the parlor was following a Dynamo who I don’t have a friendly history with. He’s a bodyguard of the Dynamo’s scumbag leader. Do you know how many innocent people I’ve seen him attack and beat nearly to death?” The light glowed green, and Rantaro pressed his foot onto the gas pedal, clenching his teeth. “When I saw who I thought to be you with that guy, I was so damn angry and scared, damn near stormed out of my car to get you.”

Was what Rantaro was saying about Gundham really true? Sure, he looked quite muscular, enough to be a bodyguard, but just lacked the aura of a cold blooded gangster. Kazuichi agreed to becoming his sugar baby so easily, he just didn’t pick up on any red flags or felt bad vibes coming from the guy. Despite his initial impression, Gundham was still a gangster, enough so to get it permanently tattooed on his arm. Could he really have harmed innocent people, almost to the point of death?

Kazuichi shuddered at the thought.

“Why didn’t you?”

“I knew you weren’t the type to hang around those parts, and I’ve seen other people besides you with that hair color, so I trusted that it wasn’t you and went on my way.” He turned the corner, parking in front of Natsumi’s apartment building. With the press of a button, he unlocked the doors, pausing before re-locking them and facing Kazuichi, locking eyes with him. “But didn’t you say that you were clubbing over there?” He leaned forward, continuing despite the mechanic leaning back in discomfort, until his nose almost touched Kazuichi’s. An ambulance blared in the distance.

“ ** _Just what were you doing in a Dynamo club?_** ”

“Kazuichi!”

Rantaro stopped dead in his tracks as he heard a disgustingly familiar voice call out Kazuichi’s name. The addressed whipped his head around to the entrance of the Hope’s Peak Skyscraper. Blonde hair, trendy clothes, brand name accessories, model figure...

_Natsumi?!_

A repulsed look painted her attractive face as she ran to Rantaro’s friend’s car. Rantaro chuckled and pulled away from Kazuichi, who was hopelessly confused at the situation. As Natsumi approached the car, she seemed to be taking deep, slow breaths, a tactic she used to calm herself down. When she deemed herself composed, she knocked purposefully on the passenger seat window, where Kazuichi sat. As the mechanic was about to press the switch to lower his window, Rantaro stopped him, which was the moment that he realized Natsumi was the beloved little sister of the Dynamo mafia’s feared leader. His heart sank as he retracted his hand from the door.

It was several seconds before Rantaro allowed Kazuichi roll the window down, a smug look on the driver’s face as he asked, “What seems to be the problem, miss?”

Loathing dominated Natsumi’s youthful features, making her appear almost villainous. “What is my best friend doing within a five mile radius of your slimy ass? And even sitting in your car?”

“It’s not my car.”

“Bullshit.”

Kazuichi was completely nonplussed. The two clearly knew each other already, which shouldn’t have been surprising considering how much Rantaro knew about the Dynamos. He knew why Dynamos peeved Rantaro, but why did Rantaro peeve Natsumi? Just how much does Kazuichi not know about Rantaro?

“Also, did you say… best friend?”

“I did, but I also asked about why he’s hanging around _you_ , the scum of the earth?”

Rantaro bit back with a smile. “Haha, Kazuichi is _my_ friend too. So how about you stick your shit-filled nose elsewhere, you stupid blonde cunt?”

He’d never seen Natsumi so affronted. _Ever._ But he’d also never heard Rantaro cuss someone out. _Ever._

It was a night filled with firsts for Kazuichi.

“You’d better shut the fuck up before I slash your fucking tires, vomit head.”

“‘Vomit head, huh, that’s a new one. At least your insults aren’t as basic as you are.”

Kazuichi held Natsumi back as she lunged at Rantaro, as well as he could in the enclosed space. He stuck himself between the two, pleading, “Please, Natsumi, don’t hurt him! H-He was only joking around, right Rantaro?”

“Blondes aren’t smart enough to get jokes.”

Rantaro laughed as he dodged the ashtray that flew at him. Kazuichi managed to fully push Natsumi out of the car, panting heavily. She had always been quite the fighter. 

“Just stop this already! Why are you two being so aggressive?”

“She shouldn’t have touched Kaito’s car.”

“It’s _your_ car, bastard. What’s the point of lying about that?”

“ _I said, it’s not my car._ ”

Natsumi was about to bite back, but hesitated and seemed to quickly reconsider her words, deciding upon, “You’d better hope it’s not after I key the fuck out of it.”

“STOP!”

They went quiet, as did all civilians on the surrounding block, startled by the commotion. The opposing young adults ceased their bickering and looked guilty as the mechanic eyed them angrily. He exited the car and directed his attention towards Natsumi.

“Rantaro’s right, you did start it, and he didn’t even do anything to you. You also don’t get to dictate who I get to spend my time with, since even if you don’t think so, Rantaro’s a great guy.” Rantaro blushed as the Dynamo princess began to scoff, but was cut off by her chastiser. “I don’t know what happened with you guys to make you bent out of shape around each other, but this was just not cool. And you,” Kazuichi accused as he turned to Rantaro. “I don’t like it when you talk to Natsumi like that. She may be confrontational, but that doesn’t give you the right to purposefully upset her like that. And she’s anything but basic.”

A slight smile played on the twin’s lips.

Rantaro’s expression was one of pure distress, not because of what he said to the bitch sister of Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu, but because he’d made Kazuichi so upset. He met the mechanic’s disapproving gaze with apologetic puppy dog eyes. “I’m sorry, Kazuichi.”

“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to, but whatever. This is my stop anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow, Rantaro-”

“Wait, Kazuichi…”

“Haven’t you bugged him enough? Just let us leave.”

“I have something to ask him, calm yourself. Kazuichi, do you… live in this building?”

Did Rantaro know that Fuyuhiko recently bought out this apartment complex, officially turning it into Dynamo territory? He’d better not mention it, just in case.

“Y-Yeah, I live here. Why?”

“Just wondering. Also, Dynamos are bad news, best friends or not.” He picked up the ashtray that had fallen at his feet and placed it in its rightful slot. “If you’re ever feeling unsafe, you know who to call.”

“Oh, the _irony._ ”

“I won’t feel unsafe.”

“Regardless, I’ll always be around. Have a good night,” Rantaro said with his quickly acquired composure, speeding off before Kazuichi could respond. Silence followed his departure and Kazuichi took a moment to collect his thoughts, only to be interrupted by his beautiful best friend.

“I absolutely cannot believe that you’re friendly with that guy. He’s _bad news_ , Kazuichi, more than you’ll ever know.”

This made Kazuichi feel angry. Rantaro had only ever been nothing but good to him, just like Natsumi had, and here they were accusing the other of such awful things? Surely Kazuichi knew both of them better they knew each other. 

“I’ve known Rantaro for a while, and I know exactly what kind of person he is, and it’s not the big bad guy that you’re making him out to be, just like how I know that you’re not the brainless chick he addressed you as.”

“I don’t even understand how you can be friends with Fuyuhiko and I and him at the same time.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

The younger Kuzuryuu twin groaned, pulling out her phone to make a call. “Look, Kazuichi, you shouldn’t stay here tonight.” She began dialing a familiar number.

“What!? Why not? Where else am I gonna go-”

“I’m going to book you a room at the Jabberwock resort nearby, I’ll even drive you there and pay all of your expenses. But, you shouldn’t stay here, I’m afraid of what that damn avocado will do to you or me if he’s certain that we both live here.”

“Why would Rantaro-”

“He’s dangerous, okay?! I just,” she trailed off, casting the pavement a defeated look. “I would feel much better if you stayed at a hotel for the night.”

Natsumi wasn’t the type to show weakness to anyone, even Kazuichi rarely got to witness it. So, he figured he’d honor her wishes since she was feeling so vulnerable. “Fine.”

“Thank you. Now let me book you a room.” She held her phone to her ear and began the booking process. 

Cars of all shapes, colors, and sizes sped by as Kazuichi tried to process the day’s events. He hadn’t had this much excitement in a while, and it made him feel drained. Drama was not something he favored having in his life, but it seemed to have been following him lately, much to the mechanic’s dismay. Maybe a night to himself in a luxurious hotel would do him some good.

“Okay, the room is ready, now let’s get you over there.”

***

Mustering every last bit of energy in his body, Kazuichi pushed the heavy door to his room shut, sliding down to the floor after it had fully closed. He could fall asleep right there on the floor, he’d had such a day. Fishing out the bundle of cash from his jumpsuit, he set it aside and pulled out an equally valuable item he’d been hiding underneath it.

So much had happened in such a short amount of time, and he needed a break, so he pulled out his wallet and snatched out his old high school ID, which he still carried around for one purpose and one purpose only.

Sluggishly trudging to the desk table, he opened the minuscule bag containing his valuable substance nd dumped it onto the desk, using the ID to push it into a little line before sniffing it all up without the help of a straw. 

It was time for some Kazuichi time.

***

“Hey, Shuichi.”

“ _Ah, Rantaro, hello. Is everything alright?”_

“Have you seen a guy who frequents my club? His name is Kazuichi.”

“ _Of course I have. Pink hair, right? Why do you ask?”_

“Well, I think he’s in danger. I’m going to need you to do a little… snooping. You know that Hope’s Peak Skyscraper? I’m gonna need you to hang around there for a little while.”

“ _Sure thing, but I heard a rumor that it recently became Dynamo territory.”_

“Really…”

_“Should I get Kaito involved?_ ”

“Yes, we’re going to need all the help we can get. After all, when trash appears, it needs to be disposed of. Quickly… _and properly_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY THE PLOT PROGRESSES. Also, psst, follow soudamstuffilike on tumblr for brownie points!


	6. First Day on the Job

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Rape

“ _You and me are irresistible_ ”

“ _In too deep it’s unbelievable_ ”

“ _Gotta be true_ ”

“ _Yeah it’s gotta be you_ ”

“Ugghhhhh…”

“ _Oooo oooo oooooo ooo_ ”

Reaching for the bedside table, Kazuichi attempted to silence the alarm on his phone, only to touch nothing but empty space. Begrudgingly, he pried his sleepy eyes open and lazily scanned the room, finding that his phone was singing happily on the desktop about eight feet away. 

_Damn it._

He threw the covers off his body fitfully, wobbling slightly when getting on his feet. A hangover blared in his head, worse than usual since he’d used on an exhausted mind and an empty stomach the previous night. Simply walking from his temporary bed to the desk was the first challenge of his day, and so far Kazuichi was failing at it. 

_“Gotta have you baby”_

_“Oh oh oh”_

_“Running from you baby”_

_“Oh oh oh”_

_“Got the rough”_

_“Got the sweet”_

_“Makin’ out to the beat”_

_“Come on don’t you keep me waiting”_

_“Oh no no”_

He’d eventually reached the table, dramatically tapping the silence button on his home screen. Relief surged through his body after the music ceased, but it was fleeting, as two notifications caught the mechanic’s attention. 

> _lecture from Yukizome today @ 8:45 am_

> _working on semester project @ 1:00 pm for Gavaliers class_

_Hooooooolyyyyyy shit._

Class… that’s right, today was Monday. Kazuichi’s two week spring break was officially over and his classes had started up again. It would be the first time he’d attended school since he’d been kicked out and cut off by his father, since his life had changed forever. There was no way that the selfish and vengeful Takeshi Souda would ever give his only child the time of day ever again, which would have been a good thing if Kazuichi hadn’t been so financially dependent on him. But things were different now, he’d reunited with Sonia and the Kuzuryuu twins, got a sugar daddy, and had Rantaro, Leon, and Hajime’s full support. He didn’t need his bastard of a father anymore, and no longer had to endure his violent antics. However, Kazuichi was still hungover and had class in under an hour. 

This was… not something that the mechanic was prepared to do this morning. 

Luckily, he hadn’t slept in his clothes that night. He’d had a habit of getting naked while under the influence, which was partly the reason why he had so many sexual partners. His clothes were a lot cleaner than he expected, considering the fact that he’d worked on a car the day he wore them. Despite this, he still fished a few quarters out of his wallet and zipped his jumpsuit on to conceal his nakedness. He walked as quickly as he could to the hotel’s laundry room and deposited his quarters and clothes into the washing machine, praying that they wouldn’t get stolen while he showered. 

After returning to his room and shutting the heavy door, he slipped off his jumpsuit and stepped into the bathroom, sluggishly turning the handle of the shower to its hottest setting. He hoped that he’d have time to dry his clothes before catching a bus to his university. 

With too much on his mind for seven o’clock in the morning, he stepped into the shower, groaning in pleasure as the scalding water cascaded down his aching back. 

***

“...and sentence variety is most important! And proper grammar! And proper comma usage! Don’t forget about MLA format either, it’s so very important! And also… well, I suppose everything is pretty important. I’ll need that assignment back from you by Friday, good luck my students! I have my utmost faith in you.”

Chisa Yukizome concluded her lecture with encouraging words to her pupils, closing her laptop with a sense of satisfaction as Kazuichi attempted to take a picture of her Powerpoint slide. Yukizome’s lectures were always Kazuichi’s favorite, mostly because the professor’s diction was about as advanced as the mechanic’s was, making the class easy to follow. But much to Kazuichi’s dismay, he’d already been assigned homework in the first class of the week and was not looking forward to any more. 

After quickly and secretly downing an aspirin, he packed his things and headed to Mr. Gavalier’s workshop, despite the fact that class didn’t start until the afternoon. He stopped by the men’s room, hesitantly entering as an unspeakable memory which took place in that very restroom resurfaced.

-

_“Hey, gorgeous.”_

_Kazuichi stopped brushing his hair mid-stroke and peered to the side of the mirror. This guy’s voice was only a tad familiar, but his face…_

_“Oh, you were the guy from Triple X!”_

_“That’s me, babe.”_

_He was tall, laid back, and had his smooth chest peeking out(was that a… wheel tattooed on his chest?) of his blue button-up shirt. Debonair… just the way Kazuichi liked them._

_“I didn’t know anyone that went to Triple X went to school here as well.”_

_Awkward silence ensued as Kazuichi no longer had booze and cocaine on his side to subdue his self consciousness. The two_ had _had sex a couple nights ago, so the attractive man likely thought highly of his face and body, but this thought did nothing to comfort Kazuichi. He mustered up every bit his confidence that he could from its long shattered remnants, and turned to face his well-endowed fling._

_“So, uh, what’s your major?”_

_Turning to the door, almost as if to leave, the man pulled out a ring of keys, casually remarking, “Oh, I don’t go to school here.” He pulled the door open just enough to stick a metallic key into its outer keyhole, a deafening click sounding throughout the echoey stalls. Retracting the keys and pushing the door closed, he faced Kazuichi once more._

_“I only came to see_ you _.”_

_He hadn’t realized he’d been backing up until the coldness of the mirror chilled his spine. His grip on his hairbrush tightened as the overwhelming feeling that something was horribly wrong manifested in Kazuichi’s chest. Was this man always this uncanny? It didn’t seem like it when he charmingly coaxed Kazuichi into his apartment and worshipped his body for the night, or had Kazuichi just failed to identify red flags while only half conscious?_

_The possibility of the latter proving to be true only increased when the man whose name Kazuichi could not remember stepped forward, an animalistic look in his eyes._

_“You left my place too early for me to ask for your name.”_

_When he could lean back no further, Kazuichi sunk to the floor, the man following in suit. Crouched over him, the man appeared to be much larger than he actually was. Slowly, he palmed Kazuichi’s thighs, gently attempting to pry them apart as Kazuichi tried his hardest to keep them closed, shutting his eyes tightly in fear. Leaning into his neck, the man inhaled lasciviously, asking, “Mind telling me your name, pretty boy?”_

_Terror and dread had Kazuichi frozen in place, unable to move or even speak. This feeling was far from unfamiliar to him, creeping up whenever he curled into a ball on his bedroom floor while his father pounded on the door, threatening to beat him to death. But it had never come in such magnitudes before, and was almost enough to make Kazuichi pass out._

_“You’re not answering me. I asked you what your name was.”_

_“Uh… um…”_

_“Whatever, it doesn’t matter anyways. I’m going to have you either way-”_

_“NO!”_

_A rush of adrenaline surged through Kazuichi’s veins as he punted his assaulter in the stomach, causing him to keel over, further trapping himself in the man’s grasp. Kazuichi knew that the man was going to attempt to rape him, but hearing it spoken out loud had awoken him from his fearful paralysis. His head had fallen into Kazuichi’s lap as he hissed in pain. “You fucking bastard! You think you can kick me like I’m a fucking dog?!” One hand clutched his stomach, and the other quickly seized a thin and shiny object from his back pocket. A switchblade, which was immediately used to cut open the crotch area of Kazuichi’s jeans, breaking skin and drawing blood in the process._

_“AHH! STO-”_

_His screams and pleas were quickly muffled by the assaulter’s calloused hand, which Kazuichi bit on contact. Despite tasting flesh and blood, Kazuichi continued to have his thighs cut up from the switchblade that was ripping apart his boxers. He shut his eyes as he felt teeth sink into his shoulder and bite down,_ hard _._

_He also felt hot tears begin to drip down his cheeks as he realized that he was completely powerless against this man. Not only because he was bigger, stronger, and the door was locked, but because most night classes had already been dismissed around this time and the chances that a student or staff member might notice that something was wrong in the men’s restroom were less than slim._

_Kazuichi gave up on resisting and went limp. At this, a catlike smile stretched across the man’s face as he began to unbuckle his belt._

_-_

It was too much for the mechanic to take. He turned on his heels and strode to Mr. Gavalier’s workshop, deciding that fixing his appearance wasn’t necessary. Muffled conversations and bustling activity had become white noise as Kazuichi regressed to a scared little boy who ran and hid from make-believe monsters. That’s what it felt like to Kazuichi, at least. He hadn’t seen a trace of the man since that horrific day, which he was thankful for. But at the time, the paranoia that came from the possibility of meeting him a third time drove Kazuichi to tentatively ask Rantaro if he’d seen him at Triple X. He only responded with, “Oh, he won’t be coming here anymore. You don’t have to worry about him. Here, I’ll get you a Coke on the house,” and never mentioned it again. He’d invited Kazuichi to his friend’s house(said friend happened to be out of town) that night, which was a beautiful mansion with endless entertainments to help Kazuichi forget the horror from a few days ago. It had been just the two of them, a bros night Kazuichi called it. Rantaro had been more than happy to play air hockey and hug him whenever he asked, a radiant smile on his face the entire night. Seriously, how could Natsumi hate the guy so much?

A buzzing from Kazuichi’s pocket caught his attention, stopping at a nearby bench to investigate its cause. It was an email from Mr. Gavalier.

_‘Sorry guys, class is cancelled today, got a hot date and she wants to go this farmer’s market all day. The workshop will open the rest of the week for you to finish your projects, though. Probably._

_-Gavalier’_

Kazuichi rolled his eyes and annoyedly shoved his phone back into his pocket. As much as he admired Mr. Gavailer, stunts like these truly got on his nerves. If it were high school Kazuichi in this situation, he’d see it as a godsend and spend the rest of his day doing whatever he pleased. But present day Kazuichi was not having it. Classes were costly, after all, and the mechanic viewed days that Gavalier didn’t feel like teaching as days wasted(or rather, _money_ wasted). The cancellation did completely free up Kazuichi’s day though, but he was unsure on how to utilize that time. He considered sniffing, but promised himself to never do it before the sun went down unless he felt like avoiding it would drive him insane. Blue jays and sparrows chirped and sang in the trees above as the mechanic pondered on how he should spend his day, trying to distract himself from the horrible memory that resurfaced only minutes prior. Almost on cue, his phone began to ring. He prayed it wasn’t Gavalier asking him to upgrade his bike again.

Taking a deep breath, he accepted the call and answered, “Hello?”

_“Kazuichi, I am in need of your assistance. Immediately.”_

“Gundham?!”

_“I believe I’ve mentioned that I am_ Tanaka the Forbidden One _-”_

“Yeah, yeah, got it. So, you need my ‘assistance’? My schedule just got cleared so I guess I could help you out.”

_“Excellent. Allow me to escort you to a sophisticated location in which we can speak… privately.”_

Kazuichi became apprehensive at those words and their speaker’s ominous tone. Did Gundham have something dangerous in mind? He _was_ a gang member after all… 

“Um… Alright, fine. I’m at school now but I’d like it if you picked me up at the Starbucks on Kuma Street. I can start walking there now.”

_“Splendid. I will be there as soon as possible, my courtesan.”_

_***_

Kazuichi was pissed off. _Very_ pissed off. In fact, in the short amount of time the pseudo couple had spent together, Kazuichi had learned that his sugar daddy had quite a knack for pissing him off. 

They sat opposite each other in a private dining room with award winning entrees on their table, courtesy of the five star restaurant Gundham had selected. Delicious smells of buttered bread and alfredo sauce wafted through the dark themed room, blending with the aroma of the beautifully carved dark mahogany that decorated its corners. Their waiter was classy and polite, serving them quickly and efficiently with a smile and an “Enjoy”. The bill was to be completely covered by Gundham, wine, entrees, and all. And yet there Kazuichi sat, almost ready to hurl the potted succulent at his right directly at the man’s face. 

The mechanic had been waiting for a few minutes at the Starbucks that Hajime worked during evenings in anticipation, apprehension eating at his entire being. The possibility of being roped into some crazy gang related scheme quickly descended a slippery slope of disasters in Kazuichi’s mind. What if he got kidnapped and sold off to some creep in a different country? Would he be knocked unconscious and wake up with organs missing? Will he be jumped into the Dynamo mafia? Could he cornered and beaten to death by bloodthirsty gangsters? The possibilities were endless whenever he fell into a panic. 

Luckily, it didn’t take long for his Dynamo to arrive, but he refused to mention what he wished to speak to Kazuichi about until they’d arrived at their destination. He seemed nervous as well, not to the extent that Kazuichi was, but enough to send his mind spiraling even further down his dreadful train of thought. Withholding the information until after they’d ordered drinks and main courses also did nothing to calm Kazuichi’s nerves. 

But as soon as their waiter left with their orders after serving their drinks, Gundham began to vent and lament to Kazuichi. The overwhelming anxiety that had plagued the mechanic for the past hour had completely dissipated upon hearing Gundham’s first sentence. Despairingly, the occult lover had revealed, “I am in need of a date.”

He then proceeded to catch Kazuichi up on the past week’s events that tortured his mind. Fuyuhiko was planning on having a party at his penthouse in the Hope’s Peak Skyscraper, the one that he’d bought out and let Natsumi live in. He wanted to celebrate the progress that his mafia had made in securing more territory to sell in and control, and required that his most prominent members bring a date lest they be excluded from the celebration. Kazuichi had learned of this party the night he’d reunited with the mafia leader and deduced that the “bring a date or else” rule was just an excuse to ask Peko to accompany him as more than just his bodyguard. 

But this rule sat heavy on Gundham’s mind. In fact, it was one of the main reasons he’d offered to sugar Kazuichi (other than the fact that his body was sinfully seductive). The occult lover(and apparent animal lover, judging from the fluffy hamsters that sat perched on his head and shoulders), hadn’t had a proper lover since high school, when he’d accepted his best friend Sonia Nevermind’s feelings and agreed to date her. The relationship didn’t last long, however, the teens ultimately realizing that their dynamic was much better suited for friendship rather than romance. Loneliness had overtaken the gangster throughout the years and he longed for a partner. Sleeping around with strangers and having meaningless flings had never been Gundham’s cup of tea, so he avoided it like the plague. 

But sugaring was different. Especially after he’d met Kazuichi. Normally this sort of relationship to him was deterring, but the mechanic’s snarky personality and clear golden skin was… tempting, _interesting_ , like a forbidden fruit. Naturally, he left this part out when lamenting to his baby, resolving that it wasn’t necessary for Kazuichi to understand his torment. 

He wanted, no, _needed_ a partner to take to his boss’s party. He too had let his nerves drive him down a slippery slope of worst possible outcomes, fearing that the mechanic would refuse to be his date or even quit being his sugar baby all together. Further contributing to his consternation, he was met with silence after formally asking his baby to become his escort. 

And it wasn’t just any silence. It was _pissed off_ silence. 

It lingered as their waiter served them their plates, a bowl of cream of mushroom soup to Gundham and a platter of chicken alfredo to Kazuichi. The waiter left feeling awkward, wondering what could have possibly gone so wrong during the time he was gone. 

The silence remained for about a minute after he’d left, only to be broken by Kazuichi when he said with deadpan, “You have _got_ to be kidding me.”

He downed the rest of his wine and set the glass on its coaster aggressively. “You mean to say that I sweated off half my body weight, tapped my fingers off, and chewed my lip raw all ‘cuz you needed a _DATE?!_ ” 

The private rooms were mostly soundproof, enough to conceal talking and laughing, but not enough to muffle Kazuichi’s distress, his shout startling several guests and their waiter who decided against refilling their glasses after catching an earful. 

“Was this _really_ all you had to say to me?”

“Yes…”

He held his head in his hand, trying his best to cool his temper. Twirling his fork in his alfredo, he lifted his face to meet Gundham’s eyes before stuffing a HUGE forkful of pasta into his mouth. When he finished swallowing, still in eye contact with his daddy, he griped, “I don’t have anything to wear.”

Gundham’s eyes lit up. “So, if I procure suitable garments for you, you will attend the festivities with me?”

He took another generous bite. “Yeah.”

“Splendid! The stars have aligned!” Gundham took the hand that wasn’t scooping up alfredo into his and gave it a light kiss, causing the mechanic to blush and nearly drop his fork. “I promise to be the finest date that you have ever had.”

Kazuichi’s heart nudged. The so-called “Dynamo trash” had such a contently happy smile on his face that Kazuichi couldn’t help but smile as well. “Hey, that’s my job.” His hand was still in Gundham’s, and upon realizing this, Gundham quickly retracted his gesture and began to hide his face with his scarf, which he apparently wore everywhere. “I-I suppose we should consume this before it becomes cold.”

Chuckling, Kazuichi agreed. “Yeah, that would be best.” 

_Was this guy always such a dork?_

They made small talk and finished their meals relatively quickly, not realizing just how hungry they’d actually been, but skipped out on dessert since they needed extra time to find an outfit for Kazuichi. A thoughtful look appeared on Gundham’s handsome face, as if he’d remembered something interesting. “Tell me, Kazuichi, is it true that you are well-acquainted with my foreman?”

“Yeah! Known him since elementary school, him and Natsumi. We were really close before his parents went insane and took him out of school. It was only recently that we met again, with Sonia, too.”

“Ah, correct, you are allied with the Dark Lady as well. I had heard that you were a favorite of my employer, but I was not aware of how far back your history dates.”

“Yeah, he’s always been my best friend, for as long as I can remember. Why’d ya mention it?”

Reaching into his jacket, he plucked a small card out a hidden pocket and placed on the table, pushing it towards Kazuichi. “You see, Mr. Kuzuryuu has a private tailor that sizes all of his clothing to perfection, since he is… not vertically gifted.” Kazuichi laughed. “One of my duties to him is to deliver valuable shipments and the like, and that includes any garment he has tailored.”

He appeared nervous and seemed to choose his words carefully so as to not offend Kazuichi. “The thought crossed my mind that perhaps… my employer would be willing to allow you to be sized and dressed by his tailor?”

The mechanic considered it for a few seconds. “Yeah, that would be pretty cool. Let me ask Fuyuhiko if it would twist his panties in a knot.” Pulling his phone out of his back pocket, Kazuichi began to dial the mafia boss’s number.

Gundham panicked, pleading, “No! You must not speak to him that way; if you interrupt him in any way, he could-”

“Yoooooo, shortstack, mind if I go to that tailor you’ve-”

Fuyuhiko quickly cut him off by yelling into the phone about how he would “fucking die” if Kazuichi ever called him shortstack ever again, a petrified Gundham shaking in his seat.

“Fine, yeah, whatever, can I go though?”

Their waiter cautiously treaded into the room and dropped off their bill before scurrying away as quickly as he could. 

“Awesome, man, thanks. See you tonight, promise me you’ll bang Peko?”

He was promptly hung up on before calling the number on the card Gundham had pulled out earlier. “See man? That wasn’t so bad.”

The man agitatedly rested his forehead on his palm, hamsters burying themselves in his scarf.

***

“Pink hair, pointy teeth, sexy face, fit body… Yeah, you’d definitely look much better in swimming trunks than _these_ clothes.”

“Uh, thanks?”

“And you, in the corner, you look a lot more like a phantom thief than a Dynamo brute.”

“I visit your shop at least thrice a month, pathetic mortal. If you continue to fail to address me properly I shall place a curse-“

“That’s all good and well, but I’ve finished sizing. Go and wait at the register, I’ll put the clothes on Mr. Kuzuryuu’s tab and iron them for you.” Tsumugi Shirogane faced Kazuichi and clasped her mouth, studying her work closely. After a few seconds of scrutinizing and circling the uncomfortable mechanic, she gave a content nod and a satisfied “umph”. “To put it plainly, I say you’re ready to go. Get those clothes off in the dressing room and get them to the counter for ironing.” She thumbed down the clasps of her impressive sewing kit securely and carried it to the register, then making her way towards the entrance of her shop to flip its sign to say “open”. 

Tsumugi wouldn’t normally close her shop for just one person. She took pride in her work and wouldn’t let just any normie distract her from it, but Dynamos were different. Her shop was in the center of their territory, after all, but even then only one of them could convince her to cease her daily activities to help them: their leader. 

And right now, the consequences of upsetting that leader’s best friend terrified her more than upsetting the leader himself. So, naturally, she closed her pretty little store for his sizing and arrival. 

Kazuichi entered the dressing room, giving himself a final once over before undressing, folding each item neatly into a pile which consisted of a jet black and white letterman jacket, pocketed distressed black jeans, a form-fitted white tank top, and even a new Vincero watch, all hand-picked by Tsumugi herself. She agreed to let Kazuichi wear the dark blue Converse currently on his feet to complete the look. The party wasn’t going to be formal, but looking stylish was a sort of unspoken rule at gatherings like that. 

He knew full well that Fuyuhiko wouldn’t tolerate anyone looking “trashy” at his suave penthouse. 

He brought the clothes to register, anxious about the event they were to be worn at. A penthouse full of gangsters… at least a few of them had to have killed someone or done something almost equally as awful. If a fight broke out, Kazuichi would be defenseless. As fit as he was, he wasn’t a fighter by any means and hated physical violence; after all, he’d suffered from it his entire life. And even if Kazuichi kept close to Fuyuhiko for safety, it was possible that the leader himself could be the target of aggression. He’d heard stories of it before in the news; “Local gang leader assassinated by rival gang member”, or even “Gangsters turn on their own leader and murder him in cold blood”. The mechanic was confident that Fuyuhiko could control his own members and earn their full respect, but that couldn’t always be counted on to save someone’s life, especially not the life of someone so unimportant as Kazuichi Souda. 

“We are ready to depart from this establishment. Come, my dashing courtesan.”

There was no way Kazuichi was going to be sober tonight. 

***

*ding*

A lively party revealed itself as the elevator doors slid open, trendy music and quality alcohol encouraging adults young and old to dance and grind their hearts out. Colored lights flashed and swooped throughout the massive living room while the intricate chandelier above seemed to retire for the night. The carpet was surprisingly clean for such a wild party, likely due to the fact that someone would be harshly punished if it were stained. Laughter could be heard from the starkly contrasted kitchen where wine glasses and hors d’oeuvres lined every elegant table. 

The sight was more overwhelming than inviting to Kazuichi, who was thankful that he’d bought a packet of cocaine from Nagito prior to his arrival. Luckily enough, the young man was standing right at the entrance of the building, not to attend(common dealers like himself were not high enough in rank to attend) but to see the hopeful faces of the excited partygoers. But before buying, Kazuichi happened to spot two attractive men a little younger than himself casually conversing by a parking meter. One had striking purple hair and a fit build while his companion had gorgeous golden eyes and a cute shy demeanor, the latter of the two almost seeming as if he were observing the sugar couple. Kazuichi brushed them off as unsuspicious bystanders and bought his usual from Nagito without worrying about them witnessing and calling law enforcement(this _was_ protected Dynamo territory, after all). The transaction shocked Gundham, who wasn’t expecting his handsome partner to have an addiction, but he refrained from commenting on it. Since snorting a line out in the open made the mechanic feel exposed, he planned to do it later in the restroom away from prying eyes. So, he’d have to deal with his emotions for at least a few more minutes. 

“Yo, Kazu!”

“Fuyuhiko!”

Kazuichi maneuvered through the crowd to greet his best friend, Gundham following in suit so as to not lose his handsome partner. In the struggle to keep up with Kazuichi’s fast pace, the gangster collided with a seedy dealer that he’d seen a few times before. As the dealer turned to find out who’d bumped him so hard, his eyes settled on something or someone in the room and widened. Following his line of sight, Gundham managed to deduce that the dealer was in fact gawking at his pink-haired date. He hoped this display wouldn’t become a trend. Kazuichi pulled Gundham’s hand in the direction of the kitchen and strode towards it before his annoyance could inspire confrontation.

“What’s up, dude? You actually look good for once.”

“Tch, still one more time than you, sharkbait.”

They embraced each other in a “guy hug” before Kazuichi finally noticed Peko standing slightly behind Fuyuhiko in a white flared dress that showed off more of her cleavage than she probably realized. She tucked a few stray stands of her silvery hair into her bun and pushed her glasses up. “Hello, Kazuichi, you look nice. Is Gundham with you tonight?”

Fuyuhiko looked bewildered. “Wait, Gundham… Ah, never mind. So, you gonna greet your boss or what?”

Gundham’s face hardened into that of noble knight about to address his king, although flustery was still quite evident on his face. He took a slight bow. “Good evening, my liege. Thank you for allowing me into your magnificent abode. Is there any request you have of me?”

Fuyuhiko took a sip of his wine as he remembered Peko’s question to Kazuichi and realized that his best friend and specialized distributor were holding hands at his party.

“U-Uh, actually… Yeah, um… Is K-Kazuichi y-your… uh…”

“Take your time.”

“Fucking shut up! Ugh, are you and Kazuichi each other’s dates for my party?”

“Indeed we are.”

“I struck gold with this guy, didn’t I?”

The mafia boss’s jaw dropped as his wine glass nearly slipped out of his hand while Peko’s expression remained stoic aside from the slight interest in her eyes. 

“I didn’t know that you swung that way, Kazuichi. Is this a recent development?”

“Huh? What are you talkin’ abou-”

He cut himself off as he realized that he started going after dudes long after Fuyuhiko’s disappearance and started to laugh. “Hahaha, look man I know I forgot to tell you but don’t look so shocked!”

Fuyuhiko’s face had gone completely white, shifting to red as he was addressed. “W-What do you mean, ‘Don’t look so shocked’?! How long have you been going that way?”

“Uh, maybe like three years now.”

The blonde’s bug-eyed expression had Kazuichi laugh so hard that he keeled over.

“Damn, it’s really not that funny,” Fuyuhiko said as Kazuichi’s sides were splitting open. “A-Also, for the record, I don’t care that you like guys. I-It’s just… You were _aaalways_ pining for girls back in high school.”

Regaining his composure, Kazuichi remarked, “Well, crushing on girls never got me a sugar daddy.”

“...”

“ _WHAT?!_ ”

***

After answering each and every one of Fuyuhiko’s invasive questions, the pseudo couple finally managed to evade him and enjoy the party. They chose a spot on the roof, where many others were enjoying the pool, playing billiards, socializing, and drinking alcohol under the cool night sky. It took everything in Kazuichi’s buzzed mind(he quickly sniffed a few lines in a closet some minutes prior) to not flirt with any of the guys there, a Herculean task for the young man. One particularly fit hottie clutched a hard root beer in his rough hand, the other in his fluffy black hair. Oh, he’d caught Kazuichi’s attention and he’d keep it if it weren’t for another attractive man that was protectively hovering over him as if he were his property. Now Kazuichi knew that tonight he was Gundham’s and only Gundham’s, but he really didn’t have to stand so close. He could smell his cologne, his shampoo, feel his light skin… On second thought, maybe having him this close isn’t so bad. 

Kazuichi was about to lean into the touch as he saw another looker walking towards him, expression confident. _Hang on, do I know this guy? I’ve seen that walk before… Oh God_ , _his shirt is so tight…_

The man approached Kazuichi, ignoring Gundham’s presence and hostile glare entirely. He smiled charmingly, his teeth a gorgeous gleaming white. “You seem like you remember me, Jumpsuit.”

The nickname almost miraculously caused Kazuichi’s memories of the man to flood his brain. Yes, that’s right… Kazuichi had just finished tinkering with Leon’s bike and headed straight to Triple X for a drink and a chat with Rantaro when he met this guy. He was smoking a cigarette in an abandoned alleyway and approached Kazuichi first(as they normally did).He wasted no time in taking Kazuichi to his apartment where he gave Kazuichi his first experience in roleplay. It was so cringeworthy but the sex was decent enough that Kazuichi completely forgot that he was supposed to be the sexy young mechanic that was visiting to fix the leaky pipe in his host’s pants.

“Yeah, I do remember you actually!” He loosened himself from Gundham’s embrace to more easily converse with the attractive young man. “Man, that was… quite a night,” Kazuichi equivocated absentmindedly. Meanwhile, the man smirked as Gundham grew visibly annoyed at Kazuichi’s friendliness. “So, what are you doing at this party?”

At first, his fling stared at him incredulously, but began to laugh lightly. “I work for Mr. Kuzuryuu, duh. You saw the tattoo that night… Actually, you saw a whole lot more than the tattoo, haha.” He put his hand on Kazuichi’s shoulder as he suggested, “Y’know, we should definitely do that again soon. If, ya know, your stalker over there doesn’t mind, haha.”

Kazuichi laughed along nervously. _Wait, he’s obviously a Dynamo, but we met near Triple X, which is definitely_ not _Dynamo territory. This guy’s lucky he didn’t run into Rantaro over there._ He could practically feel the tension and hostility radiating off of Gundham and hoped that the lackluster lover would just leave already without conflict.

_But wait… If Triple X isn’t Dynamo territory, then who does it belong to?_

_...I guess it doesn’t really matter._

Much to Kazuichi’s dismay, Gundham spoke up to defend himself. “I am no stalker of his. In fact, I am his date to this party, while your pathetic self seems to be wandering about alone and so desperate for good company that you would bother my courtesan. Leave _immediately_ before I feel the need to discipline you.”

The man’s confidence did not waver. In fact, he adopted an air of smugness and superiority, almost as if he expected Gundham to challenge him, and smirked. “Ah, right… well, I guess we could just ask Jumpsuit who’s better in bed.” He tilted his head toward Kazuichi. “So, whadaya say?”

“I don’t know, I mean we’ve never had sex before so…”

Apparently this was the wrong thing to say, seeing as Gundham’s grip on Kazuichi’s waist tightened far beyond what was comfortable. _Whoops_. The man burst into condescending laughter, even tearing up slightly as he shouted, “Heeey, everyone, Gundy the Forbidden One is still a virgin!”

* _crack_ *

All eyes were on Gundham in an instant, who’s bloody fist continued to collide with the face of his taunter, breaking his nose, his jaw, knocking out several teeth-

“STOP!”

Gundham was on top of the mangled man, fist cut up and gashed from the victim’s teeth and his own non-stop punches. He immediately ceased his actions when he heard Kazuichi’s cry and slowly began to become aware of his surroundings. His Dynamo colleagues stood around him horrified and amused, not because a violent fight broke out, but because a violent fight broke out **_in the boss’s house_**. They backed away cautiously to avoid appearing guilty of participation as a fellow member came running with Fuyuhiko in tow, who gnashed his teeth at the disgusting display he thought he’d never have to see again. With a snap of his fingers, two burly tattooed men appeared and unceremoniously grabbed Gundham by the arms and dragged him back into the house.

All was quiet as Fuyuhiko shouted, “If any of see this kind of behavior against one of own, you don’t just fucking stand there, you _END IT_. Understand?”

A unanimous “Yes, boss” followed the announcement and Fuyuhiko left the rooftop, Kazuichi in hot pursuit. They descended the stairs in tense silence as the men apprehending Gundham, who remained dazed and quiet, threw him into a closet and locked him it. The mechanic’s eyes widened as he grabbed his best friend’s shoulder. “F-Fuyuhiko, you’re not j-just gonna leave him there, are you?”

Fuyuhiko exhaled irritatedly as he motioned to his guests to mind their own business and continue partying, which they did. “Come with me, Kaz.” He ascended a separate staircase that led to his second floor, rather than his roof, and had Kazuichi follow. He chose to sit on a comfy cream loveseat(courtesy of Natsumi) in the hallway where the mechanic joined him. He seemed frustrated. “Kazuichi, listen-”

“You can’t just lock someone in a closet like fucking Harry Potter, Kuzuryuu, that’s cruel and unusual punishment!”

“First of all, do you really think we give a flying shit about the law here?” Kazuichi opted to examine the tropical fish aquarium at his left rather than answer the question. “Secondly, how much do you know about Gundham? Clearly not enough to become his fuckin’ sugar baby, just how much thought did you put into _that_ decision?”

“It seemed like a good idea at the time…”

The mafia leader facepalmed so dramatically that a loud _smack_ punctuated the action, causing Kazuichi to flinch slightly. A particularly pretty fish swam peacefully past his face as Fuyuhiko lifted his head and began to speak. “A long time ago-”

“Ugh, don’t tell me Gundham has some tear-jerking tragic backstory-”

“Let me damn talk, Kazuichi.” Kazuichi hmphed and kept his attention trained on the fish. “When I first started up the Dynamos, I went looking for decent members everywhere I could. I scouted every street of unclaimed territory, phoned people I knew-” _Sonia_. “...I even wrote to inmates with an approaching release date promising them money and protection if they joined. And it worked pretty damn well, except that when doing that kind of job, you run into a lot of… crazies.”

Poundingly loud music made the walls vibrate, resulting in some turbulence in the fish tank. Various gambling matches were made known as people shouted "Royal Flush!" and “Blackjack!” Kazuichi sorely wished to join them instead of hearing every reason why sugaring for Gundham was a lousy idea. “One day, I ran into the ol’ Forbidden One in a dirty alleyway, and he was just _surrounded_ by corpses. And you know he made them cuz he was just _covered_ in… well, _everything_.” The tan that the mechanic had acquired over the summer seemed to vanish as every bit of color left his face. It rivaled that of the loveseat he rested on.

“You’d think that gang members don’t usually attack their own but Gundham has a _track record_. And look, I _get_ that my bastard of a product manager probably started it, those two have had problems before, but I told Gundham that if he pulled this shit again he’d be in trouble. So when he’s sane again and out of his daze, he’ll get _properly punished_.”

***

Bodies moved against and among each other enthusiastically as trendy music blared through their ears. Alcohol and cigarette smoke were pungent on their clothes and mouths, but this didn’t seem to bother them. They were adults who could do what they want, when they wanted to, if even for only one night, the one night they could afford to abandon their responsibilities and get lost among beautiful faces and flashing lights. A night of dancing, a night of recklessness, a night of fun.

This party scene was how Kazuichi started his night, but he wound up ending it at Triple X like he normally did. Fuyuhiko’s recollection of Gundham had made him sick to his stomach, leaving the penthouse as soon as it was finished. Despite his innocent and dorky impressions, Gundham Tanaka truly was still a gangster. He wasn’t an exception like the Kuzuryuu twins or even Nagito, just another bloodthirsty street bastard who’d settled for the dangerous world of easy money and high risk. And Kazuichi had almost given himself to him, or rather he would have, if Gundham had taken him to a hotel after the party. He’d agreed to become a complete stranger’s sugar baby, and **_why_**? Because he was attractive? Because he was Sonia’s friend? Because he had this uniquely endearing personality that gave him an air of innocence that Kazuichi had never seen in his entire life? Really, he was such a fool.

A familiar bartender slid him a cup of rum and cola, exactly what he’d been craving. Odd, he didn’t remember ordering one. Maybe it was just someone trying to get into his pants with a drink and meaningless conversation as per usual. Whatever, it was a free drink and sex would be a great way of lifting his spirits anyway. He took a sip, eyes remaining downcast.

“Geez, not even a hello?”

Kazuichi’s head shot up in surprise, expression filled with relief and delight. “Rantaro!”

“Who else but me?”

Using his knee to elevate himself, Kazuichi leapt onto the bar counter without a second thought and hugged Rantaro, nearly knocking over his rum and cola. _Oh, the things drugs encourage me to do._ Rantaro was still at first, but hugged the mechanic back with fervor as soon as his surprise dissipated. They held the embrace, enjoying each other’s presence for a few moments, Kazuichi inhaling the bartender’s light cologne and favorite shampoo, a familiar and intoxicating scent. Rantaro’s hands slowly began to pull Kazuichi’s body closer to his own, his thumbs rubbing Kazuichi’s back soothingly. He angled his head and whispered into his friend’s ear, “Missed me?”

Kazuichi hummed in response, asking, “I thought your shift ended an hour ago? Is your bully of a boss making you work overtime?” Rantaro smiled and nuzzled the nook between his friend’s neck and shoulder. “Oh, believe me, _no one’s_ forcing me to be here right now.” After a few more blissful seconds Kazuichi inhaled again, breaking the embrace when the cold granite of the countertop began to hurt his knees. Maybe the cocaine was making him hallucinate, but Rantaro seemed quite stricken when the mechanic pulled away. He sat back down on his barstool and sipped his drink, and asked, “So, your boss won’t get me in trouble for jumping on the counter like that, will he?”

Rantaro simply smiled contently and tucked some strands of hair behind Kazuichi’s ear, answering, “Oh, definitely not.”

The mechanic didn’t notice Rantaro glare witheringly towards a man about to approach the two, nor did he notice said man bow slightly to his green-haired friend. Instead, he let drugs overtake his brain and giggled, something he wouldn’t be caught dead doing while sober. “Hee hee hee… awesome.” Rantaro’s eyes widened slightly before he began to laugh. “Haha, K-Kazuichi, did you just _giggle_?” His amusement was short-lived, however, since he quickly realized that only one thing could entice Kazuichi Souda to giggle. “Oh no, Kazuichi, have you sniffed tonight?”

“Sure have!”

“Ah, you _know_ I really don’t trust you to be here by yourself when you’re this vulnerable…”

As if on cue, Kazuichi’s demeanor changed from that of playful and touchy-feely to serious and expectant. He lightly took hold of Rantaro’s cheek and tilted his head to meet his gaze. “Then… why don’t **_you_ ** keep me company?”

***

The door slammed, causing the elaborate paintings on the wall and crystal chandelier to shake and quiver while one young man forcefully pinned the other to said door. His eyes were lascivious and greedy while his touch was hot and and intentful. And his breath was…ragged. His hands slowly ghosted over his partner’s arms, moving from his shoulders to his wrists lightly before lifting them up to and against the door, not once breaking eye contact. His grip tightened. He leaned forward, inhaling deeply and licking underneath the earlobe. A light gasp escaped his partner’s lips, encouraging him to teasingly kiss his cheek and the corner of his mouth, the faint taste of rum and cola on both. The taste became exponentially more distinguishable after his impatient partner quickly kissed his lips one, two, three times, each needier than the last. 

Rantaro was all too eager to satiate his dear friend Kazuichi’s need for his kisses. The kisses were soft and wet, each blending into the other since neither participants were ready to break for air. When they did, they were consecutive, wet pops punctuating each one as they got deeper and deeper. Rantaro kissed Kazuichi hard, as if he thought he’d never get the privilege to do it again and put some space between the two in order to lick Kazuichi’s bottom lip. The mechanic quickly parted his lips and kissed back with fervor, allowing Rantaro to completely dominate his mouth and his mind, his hazy mind. Rantaro made sure the gesture did not go to waste, his hands ditching Kazuichi’s wrists for his neck and his head, fingers slipping through bright pink hair. He instinctively leaned into the kiss even further, his tongue ravishing his partner’s beautiful mouth, lips, tongue… He could not get enough of the curiously pleasant sensation of another textured tongue against his own, especially Kazuichi’s. 

_Ah, Kazuichi… Sweet, clueless, kind,_ beautiful _Kazuichi…_

It had been months since he’d last had this opportunity, since Kazuichi had come to _him_ and cuddled with _him_ and trusted _him_ and moaned for **_him_ ** at his “friend’s” house so perfectly… exactly the way God must have intended. 

After regretfully breaking the kiss with a drawn out wet _smack_ Rantaro wasted no time in scooping up his beloved mechanic bridal style and carrying him up the spiral stairs into his own bedroom, or rather “Kaito’s bedroom” that Kaito was so graciously lending to his good friend to use the way he had for the first time those 3 years ago, when Kazuichi had begun to realize that his tastes for men went far beyond romantic and pleaded for his friend’s advice. And advice he gave… as well as experience, of course; it was an unspoken “package deal” of sorts.

The room was furnished rather boyishly, almost like a man cave with a large television screen hooked up to several popular consoles accompanied by a tall shelf with a library of video games connected to a brand new pc. However, the nerdiness of the stocked mini fridge, various posters of famous tv shows, and epic gamer setup didn’t seem to bother Kazuichi at all. In fact, when he was laid hastily onto his friend’s grand navy blue bedspread, all he could focus on was how the entire room smelled faintly of Rantaro, especially the king sized mattress that seemed to caress his body and entice him to give himself to its owner. Everything in the room was bought with the money that Rantaro earned from running Triple X, from the rug under his feet to the mood lights that he quickly dimmed to perfection before returning to his sweet and planting his forearms either side of Kazuichi’s head and dipping down to kiss him once more. 

But Kazuichi didn’t need to know any of that. And he didn’t, as long as that filthy blonde bimbo Kuzuryuu called a sister kept her cum stained lips shut about his status. Kazuichi didn’t need to know that Rantaro was the leader of Crazy Dice, the Dynamo’s main rival gang and monopolozier of the city’s most popular high end clubs. But of course, it wasn’t always this way; after all, he’d inherited it after the death of its beloved Supreme Leader and expanded it from a small organization into a weapon to crush the puny head of Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu and his twin skank, which Kazuichi also didn’t have to know about. Why, such information would likely scare the poor thing away, even now after Rantaro’s worked so hard to prove to Kazuichi that he is trustworthy and worthy of the mechanic’s affection. 

But Kazuichi would learn to overlook Rantaro’s intimidating position and **_love_ ** him. 

Rantaro would make sure of it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <3


	7. Do You Forgive Me?

Cold… cold cold cold so _cold_ … 

_Where_ am _I?_

Gundham’s entire body felt as if he’d been doused in ice water over and _over_ again. The contact with the wet concrete made his cheek completely numb and the rope binding his hands and feet together rubbed and chafed at his skin. His hair was soaked and he was beginning to get an earache. 

Although these sensations were nothing too unfamiliar, he’d never recalled losing his eyesight after getting disciplined by his boss’s men. He couldn’t see a thing, pitch black nothingness dominating his surroundings. But judging by the concrete, silence, and lack of a breeze Gundham was able to deduce that he’d been left in a Dynamo warehouse downtown. How long he’d been there, he didn’t know, but what he did know was that he’d have to escape this bondage with his own efforts, since there was no sign of the brutes who’d dragged him there. 

He probably deserved this, though, even if that bastard of a product manager was always pushing his buttons. But in his defense, Gundham didn’t truly realize what he was doing until Kazuichi had shouted at him and he noticed a disfigured bloody man underneath him. But… that was the problem. He would lose his control after being provoked and raise hell on whatever unlucky fucker caused it and wouldn’t be able to stop himself. And Kazuichi… 

_Oh no._

Kazuichi had seen it all. They’d been together not two days and he’d already seen the absolute worst of Gundham. Together… could a sugar relationship even count as two being together? Perhaps it doesn’t matter, since the chances that Kazuichi wanted to see him again were none. Gundham’s heart nudged painfully as he accepted the fact that he’d ruined his chance to start a relationship for the umpteenth time and was once again left alone in suffocating darkness. It seemed that no matter how hard he tried, loneliness would always dominate his thoughts and company. 

No… he couldn’t let his mind go to such dark places. Instead he thought of his hamsters who had disappeared for the time being and of Sonia and how the next time he saw her he’d treat his dear friend to her favorite cookies at a pretty café. He thought of her blonde hair, kind eyes, her complete acceptance of him, their friendship… His train of thought drifted to Kazuichi and how he and Sonia also shared a close friendship. How much would this change and strain things between the two? He hoped they would remain unaffected, he couldn’t imagine Sonia allowing a dear friend to slip through her fingers that easily. And Kazuichi…

Kazuichi… he was just… so _different_ in the best way possible. He would talk back to Gundham and tease him as if he we not the head of Dynamo drug distribution (how Fuyuhiko decided to assign him _that_ job, Gundham was unaware). As if he were not a dangerous gangster, as if he was just another odd guy on the street. Around Kazuichi, Gundham felt… accepted, normal. And he was just so uniquely handsome with his vibrant pink hair, pointed teeth, and slightly muscular build. He most likely became that way from so much mechanic work… Right, he was a mechanic, and a damn good one too. His car had never run that smoothly before he worked on it, not even when the car was brand new. What a useful talent…

_I wonder if his expertise expands beyond motor vehicles…_

A water drop fell on his forehead, abruptly interrupting his thoughts and reminding him that he was still bound and left to rot in a dirty old warehouse. Salty tears began to sting his eyes. 

_I hope Kazuichi is in a safe place._

***

Kazuichi breathed and panted debauchedly as overwhelmingly pleasurable sensations filled his abdomen before quickly taking over his entire body. His fingers clutched satin navy blue bedsheets as he was repeatedly kissed, bitten, and thrust into by one of his most trusted friends. As his eyes were losing focus and wandering about he made eye contact with Rantaro, whose gaze was… _much_ more intense than the last time he caught it. Upon witnessing Kazuichi’s tantalizing expression and vulnerable position Rantaro began to thrust harder as he dug his nails into Kazuichi’s hips.

“Ah, hah, R-Rantaro-”

“Call me Big Brother.”

“Big…”

Kazuichi’s words were cut off by an intense burst of pleasure as Rantaro hit his G-spot twice in a row. He swore he saw stars.

“Hehe, y-you _are_ pretty big aren’t you-”

He was cut off once again by a particularly hard and desperate thrust as the gang leader begged, “ _Do it, Kazuichi_.”

“Hnngh, B-Big Brother, Rantaro, ah, harder, **_faster_**!”

***

Thoroughly worn out and on the verge of despair, Gundham bit his lip and dropped the pocket knife he’d been so desperately scratching the synthetic rope around his wrists with. Finding motivation to keep himself from going insane had become nearly impossible after what seemed like hours of brooding alone in damp darkness. Oh, if only his Devas were here…

Whenever Fuyuhiko would have Gundham incarcerated for public safety he normally gave whatever animals he had on his person a comfortable waiting space as they waited for their master to come back, but this never did anything to quell Gundham’s pangs of worry for them. The thought of their little paws and evil nature pained his heart as he wished for them to be safely buried in his clothes.

A distant pit-pattering sound soon caught Gundham’s attention as he widened his eyes and feared the worst. _Rats!? Have they come to devour the body that I use for this realm!?_ However, his thoughts quickly deviated from that gory possibility as the sound became louder… _and closer_.

_No, that couldn’t possibly be a rat’s scurry, it sounds more akin to… a hamster’s run?_

“My Devas!”

There they were, the Four Dark Devas of Destruction in all their fluffy glory, sprinting towards their defeated master. Gundham laughed out of sheer joy at their presence, quickly angling his body to reveal the knots at his wrists and ankles. Without instruction, the hamsters began to determinedly gnaw and chew at the rope before realizing that plastic was no match for their little chompers. Instead, they used their teeth to pull apart the knot skillfully and carefully as their master had taught them in their youth. 

Soon Gundham was free from his bonds and laid on the concrete with his limbs spread out like a starfish, smiling to himself and relishing in the relief of abandoning his painfully contorted fetal position. His Devas hopped onto his chest and squeaked triumphantly at their chivalry while Gundham fondly scratched their tiny foreheads. 

He paused for a moment, realizing what must come next. 

“Come Devas, we must go home and rest. And in the morning, we shall find Kazuichi and give him the explanation he so deserves.”

Ignoring the excruciating pain that came with picking himself up, Gundham laced his boots tightly and strode with great difficulty out of the dark warehouse, hamsters at his sides. 

***

“Hmm, it’s about that time.”

His watch read 3:30 am, and knowing full well about his boss’s sleeping habits, Nagito was confident that Fuyuhiko had driven the last of his guests out of his house(save for Peko) so that he could get his beauty rest. He retreated from the windy spot under the building’s awning that he’d spent most of the night loitering under, exhaling in relief upon feeling the warm and welcoming touch of warm air envelop his frosted skin as he entered the building. Fuyuhiko had truly outdone himself in purchasing this complex; its beautiful architecture practically took the dealer’s breath away. It wasn’t modern architecture, no, the grandeur of the sculpted mahogany walls and ornate chandeliers convinced Nagito that this building’s interior was courtesy of the Roaring 20’s(the building itself has gone through major modifications; several floors were added, mold was extirpated, and the foundation was bolstered). He longed to become important enough to live or even work in this building, even if he had to be a lowly doorman or nighttime janitor; both occupations suited him, after all. 

He pressed the elevator button with purpose and upon entering, dialed a secret key code into the touchpad that took him straight to the top floor, the 25th floor to be exact(only buttons 1-24 were included on the pad). 

He wasn’t supposed to know the key code, being an insignificant dealer and all, but he just so happened to find a sticky note that missed the trash can in Fuyuhiko’s temporary office the night that he and Kazuichi reunited, with the code clearly written on it, titled “my house code”. 

Nagito was delighted at this stroke of luck and made sure to memorize the sequence of numbers in case it ever came in handy, which tonight it most certainly did. He hadn’t expected to see two prominent members of Crazy Dice camped out in front of the Hope’s Peak Skyscraper, especially since its purchase should still be a secret affair, but no matter. There were two rats outside of his boss’s property, rats that didn’t belong there, rats that had no business dirtying Dynamo streets, rats that threatened to extinguish the hope that kept Nagito sane throughout the night. And because of this, despite it not being his job or purpose, Nagito felt compelled to report their presence. And report it he _would_.

He felt a small smile tug at his lips as he stepped out of the elevator and rang the penthouse’s doorbell. 

***

Kazuichi was glowing, completely relishing in his post-ejaculation clarity, feeling sleep starting to take over his senses as he felt his good friend protectively wrap an arm around his middle, whispering, “Stay.” And although Kazuichi would never consider spending the night, this was Rantaro talking, and the bed they were in was pretty damn comfortable. _Rantaro’s friend must be pretty rich if he can afford putting such sweet beds and even gaming consoles in his guest bedrooms._ Resolving to stay, Kazuichi hummed as he felt his high wearing off. 

He now fully realized where he was and who he was with, and despite the overwhelming clarity he felt a minute prior, guilt and heartache were somehow sneaking their way into Kazuichi’s tired, jaded heart. Wasn’t he supposed to be with Gundham tonight? And where was Gundham, exactly? Is he okay after getting punished by Fuyuhiko’s men?

_Ah, damn it, why should I care about that? He’s nothing but a murderer, right? I shouldn’t be feeling this way about someone like that…_

_…_

_And yet here I am._

He cringed as he remembered what Fuyuhiko revealed about Gundham to him at the party, unconsciously sinking into Rantaro’s touch(which apparently did not go unnoticed, as the seemingly dozing Rantaro only embraced Kazuichi even tighter). He then glanced at Rantaro’s(sleeping?) face, reflecting on the night's events. Rantaro had been his first ever male experience, and in this very room, at that. They were always in this room, actually, their encounters. They gave this room an almost tangible sense of nostalgia and made Kazuichi curious as to why Rantaro’s friend let him have sex here so often. He was sure that Rantaro, like himself, had had many partners who also knew this room the way he did, although he’d never seen or heard of any. Rantaro was just too mysterious and attractive to not have people willing to give themselves to him, but that’s what made Rantaro unattractive to Kazuichi; as a partner, at least. The mechanic was much too self conscious to have such a desired partner at his side and not feel constantly envious of random admirers. Rantaro wasn’t even his type anyway; he liked him much more as a friend despite their sexual history and wanted to keep things that way. Besides, why would Rantaro ever fall for Kazuichi anyway? 

_Pff, me and Rantaro? Dating? As if._

Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before Kazuichi began to feel every inch of sweat and other fluid covering his body and he was soon reminded of one of the many reasons why he did not like to spend the night. He longed for a shower and clean clothes, but he knew the chances of his bartender letting go were nonexistent (Rantaro was a huge cuddler). The mechanic instead resolved to bite his lip and attempt to lull himself to sleep, looking for anything he could in his mind or in the room that would get the job done. 

_Hmm, let’s see, let’s see…_

Out of the corner of his eye, Kazuichi spotted a light pink candle flickering gently on a desk(when did Taro light _that_?) and noticed the pretty scent of cherry blossoms and chamomile wafting through his nose. He repositioned his leg and felt a light, soft sensation across his calf; the fleece blanket under the young men felt like they were resting on heaven’s clouds. His eyes began to droop as the candle went out and the heater turned on, blowing thick, warm air directly onto Kazuichi’s handsome face. He disregarded the inevitable drama and responsibilities of tomorrow and let his environment sweep him off his feet and into pleasant dreams as he slowly closed his eyes and fell into a deep, peaceful sleep. 

  
***

Rays of golden sun fell upon the city, signifying the beginning of a new day as traffic began to fill the streets. Life went on as it usually did for most without consideration for those in turmoil. The sun still rose, the pigeons still cooed, and the Earth still rotated. 

Gundham found this thought to be comforting in trying times like the present, that life would still go on despite whatever became of today. He clung to it while pacing in front a pretty café near the Hope’s Peak Skyscraper, his phone to his ear. He bit his lip while the phone continued to ring, the anticipation gnawing at his very being. Would he answer? Should Gundham just hang up right now and spare himself the despair of officially losing a chance at companionship? Could he just-

“ _Hello?”_

_He answered!_

“Ah, um, yes, h-hello Kazuichi. How are you this morning?”

“...”

“W-Well, I hope you are feeling splendid. Would you mind, perhaps, um, meeting me at the café near the Hope’s Peak Skyscra-”

“ _Sure._ ”

He abruptly hung up, leaving Gundham feeling slightly relieved that he actually answered but anxious beyond any level appropriate for nine o’clock in the morning. He slipped his phone into his pocket and strode into the café, alone. His Devas were at home resting with a surplus of tasty hamster snacks at their disposal as a reward for rescuing their master, but Gundham would be lying if he said that he didn’t sorely wish for their moral support and fluffy presences for this encounter. He chose a table near the window and opted to wait until Kazuichi arrived before ordering something. He gripped the ends of his scarf tightly while the thought of being stood up hurt his heart. He’d been so nervous about whether or not Kazuichi would actually want to see him that now… he didn’t know _what_ to do. Or say, for that matter.

_I simply need to apologize, and if… he doesn’t accept it, then that’s that and I shall leave him to live his life. And as for me…_

His heart began to hurt again. 

Suddenly a jingle sounded throughout the quiet café causing Gundham’s eyes to dart towards the door where an old woman being guided by a young man walked in. _Damn._ He averted his eyes back to his own table. _I am restless_.

This continued for a few minutes, the cute little bell alerting an inevitably disappointed Gundham that someone new was entering the café. Warmly excited chest pangs hardened into cold crestfallen stings as each guest proved to be someone other than Kazuichi. And although only ten minutes had passed, Gundham began to get nervous, _really_ nervous.

_What am I to do if he never arrives?_

He held his head in his hands and sighed, already mentally exhausted when he heard his phone ping. Retrieving it from his pocket, he was surprised to see that it was Fuyuhiko and even more surprised to see that he had news so important that he was calling a meeting at his penthouse for top members, which included Gundham. In fact, he was so surprised that he didn’t notice the jingle that he’d been so anxiously waiting for all morning, nor did he notice his long-awaited guest standing right at his table.

_A meeting at my foreman’s abode? What could possibly be so direly impor-_

“Hey.”

Gundham’s head immediately shot up while his phone slipped out of his hands and onto the smooth wooden table.

“Uh, are you oka-”

“Yes! Indeed, I am… okay, I just, um…”

Kazuichi cocked his head in confusion.

“I owe you an apology.”

The mechanic’s eyes widened as he tentatively took a seat opposite Gundham. He slipped his hands into his pockets to conceal his nervous fingers and locked eyes with his sugar daddy, eyes distrusting but expectant. And as Gundham opened his mouth to explain himself, a pretty blonde waitress wearing a frilly pink uniform on her voluptuous body and music note clips in her hair approached them, a heart shaped notepad in her hand.

“Hello! Welcome to Oumami Café! My name is Kaede, and I’ll be taking your or-” Kaede’s voice and happy tone faltered upon realizing who she had to serve, but quickly regained it, resolving to give her all and be the best waitress alive regardless of her problematic guests. “-der. Ah, sorry, my brain’s a bit slow at the moment. Hehe, you know how mornings are.”

“Geez, you’re tellin’ me. I’d like some strawberry macarons and some Coke, if ya have any.” Kaede’s cheerful greeting lightened the mood a bit, which Kazuichi was grateful for. He loved when food service workers were kind and helpful, it just put him in a good mood, especially due to the overwhelming disrespect they face on a daily basis according to Hajime, who’s shift at Starbucks had taught him much about tolerating human rudeness. Kaede seemed like the kind of person who just lit up any room she entered, and boy, was she pretty. He gave her a big smile, which she returned.

“And you, sir? What would you like?”

“Ah, just a cupcake. Vegan, if you please.”

“Coming right up.”

She gracefully made her way to the kitchen with a pep in her step, and, as soon as the door swung shut behind her, whipped out her phone and began to dial her best friend.

Kazuichi smiled to himself and momentarily forgot the situation at hand. “Well, she was nice.”

“Kazuichi, look at me.”

He quickly remembered.

“Listen, I… haven’t given you the honesty that you deserve. And it is quite a shame that my foreman has beaten me to it, which I fully assume that he has. Is this true?”

Kazuichi nodded his head as his eyes became downcast.

“Then I am sure he has told you the entire story, which is pure truth.” The mechanic bit his lip. “A-And… while this is more akin to an excuse rather than an explanation, ever since I was a child, I have had problems with fear and rage.” He fiddled with his scarf for a moment before pulling it off and resting it on the table. “There are certain topics, that when mentioned in front of me, trigger immense distress and horrible memories. And when this occurs, I become so utterly enraged that I almost completely lose control of body and mind, like a fierce demon from Hell has possessed my entire being. I… do not mean to hurt _anyone_ when this happens, but… I’ve spent so long repressing the feeling that I fear I’ve lost complete control over it, which is what happened at the party. But your voice… when I heard your voice cry out to me I felt myself become healed of that terrible hellish plague that consumed my body, and I… that has never happened to me before. And I am so grateful that it happened.”

Gundham paused for a moment, blood and adrenaline pumping through his veins. He’d never… talked about this with anyone before, save for his late mother. He examined Kazuichi, whose fists were clenched but expression dumbfounded, which made it evident that he was listening carefully. Gundham resolved to continue.

“I am aware that I am a dangerous person, and I really truly do not wish to endanger you in any way. So… if you wish to discontinue this, our relationship… If you feel that our parting ways will bestow on you feelings of safety, then that is what will happen. Because, as y-your… s-sugar daddy-” The mechanic smiled in amusement before it disappeared a second later. “-it is my job to ensure your happiness. So, if you wish to end this, then please do so.”

Silence. Kazuichi’s expression at this point was… rather expressionless. His hands were relaxed and he seemed to be deep in thought. Feelings of déjà vu troubled Gundham’s mind as Kaede quietly but merrily served their treats, retreating immediately back into the kitchen.

Kazuichi then inhaled and exhaled deeply, resolve painting his features. He began to speak.

***

“Geez, I was starting to think you’d never pick up! Is everything okay?”

“ _Sorry Kaede, I was giving my report to Rantaro just now and I shut off my phone. You know how he hates being interrupted.”_

“Oh, I hope that went well! I’m so sorry if my calls interrupted you guys, but the very people that you just gave your report on _are in the cafė._ Together! What should I do, Shuichi? Eavesdrop?” 

_“Ah, no, definitely not. You can’t afford to look suspicious in front of Tanaka, you’re lucky enough that he doesn’t know your face. And as for having them at the cafė, it’s not established Dice territory, so it’s unlikely that their intentions are dangerous, but that’s_ quite _the coincidence.”_

“I know, right? I never would’ve expected this after what you told me about them last night. Y’know, I really do think I should listen in-”

_“Kaede, please don’t put yourself in danger like that. You’re always such a risk taker.”_

“And you always take the safe route! But if you really insist, I’ll stay out of their hair and keep my head down. You really should visit the cafė more often, though. When I’m not polishing the weapons in the storeroom or moving money through the ATMs, I’m baking delicious treats! And they’d love for you to come eat them.”

 _“You know, I think I_ will _come by later. I’ve been craving one of your lattes and I’d like to hang out when we aren’t working. But I’m surprised at the cafė’s success, I never imagined you’d be so good at baking.”_

“Piano’s not the only thing these hands know, Shuichi. Everyday I do my best to recreate Kokichi’s favorites.”

_“Yeah, I think he would’ve wanted that. I remember how we’d all have those ‘Treat-Retreats’ together... Kirumi would bake sweets, Angie would decorate the sweets, Kokichi would drop crumbs in Kaito’s shirt while you, Rantaro, and I would watch…”_

“Shuichi…”

_“I… still miss him…”_

“Yeah… Me too… But, it’s all the more reason to follow Rantaro’s orders and take down the Dynamo gang. We’ll do it… For Kokichi!”

_“Haha, definitely. And as for Tanaka and Kazuichi Souda, I’ll report their visit to Rantaro for you. I’ll meet you at the cafė later today.”_

“Yay! I look forward to it. And I’ll see _you_ later too, goodbye!”

_“Bye.”_

***

“I… don’t know what to say.”

Saying that made Kazuichi feel dumb. Gundham had just poured his heart out to him, and that’s his response? He had wanted to comment many times throughout Gundham’s explanation but now that it was his turn to speak, he felt rather speechless.

_I guess I’ll just go in order._

“First of all, you seriously need to invest in some happy pills.” Gundham confusedly furrowed his eyebrows, momentarily averting his gaze and mouthing ‘ _happy pills?’_ “Secondly, at the party you had me _terrified_ , like I nearly shit my pants out of fear, and seriously, this is something you mention at the _beginning_ of a relationship, it shouldn’t have to be a curveball that comes out of nowhere that Fuyuhiko has to explain and yell at me for.” He took a few gulps of his Coke to avoid looking at Gundham’s guilty, regretful features. “And lastly, I’m a little creeped out by the fact that I can pull you out of your demon mode, but... I’m also really glad that I can. I wasn’t planning on ending our relationship before, but hearing that just made me want to continue it even more.” He smiled and took hold of Gundham’s hand, flustering him a bit. “Besides, you’re not the only one at the table who’s kinda messed up.” He nervously scratched the back of his head and bit his lip, making eye contact with Gundham once more. Any negative emotions the animal lover had earlier were quickly wiped away and replaced with a shocked but ultimately happy expression. It warmed the mechanic’s heart, bracing him for what came next.

“I… haven’t exactly been honest about my own past, either.”

***

_Drip…_

_Drip…_

_Drip…_

“It’s not _enough_.”

He grabbed the closet door handle, violently turning it and pulling the door open so hard that it pushed past the door stopper and dented the wall. Pruny hands closed around a brand new bottle of men’s sandalwood scented body wash, for the old one had been recently emptied. He threw it into the shower where an explosion of sound and cream bombarded the walls as he tightly gripped the shower’s handle, twisting it so that the water reached its hottest setting. He stepped in, the scalding water and slippery floor failing to faze him.

 _Why_ _the_ fuck _had I not found out about this sooner?_

Scrubbing his body with the abrasive side of a sponge and his favorite body wash _still_ didn’t make him feel clean, despite his previous attempts. This was his third shower of the day, and Rantaro still felt grimy and greasy with the absolute _sin_ of ignorance.

 _If he had just come to_ me _for help I would’ve showered him with so much love and attention and money and comfort-_

His eyes widened.

_No!_

_It’s… my fault… My fault for not being someone he could depend on, someone he could rely on, someone he could lean on…_

Rantaro’s hands began to redden and his smooth tan skin began to bleed.

_But if Kazuichi thought I was unreliable then he wouldn’t have stayed in Ryouma’s apartment the night he got the call, nor would he have let me take him to paradise last night…_

He dropped the sponge.

 _No, I should be grateful to Tanaka, he made my Kazuichi realize that_ I’m _the only one he can_ truly _depend on… Perhaps this was a good thing, but Kazuichi still lied to me about being involved with that murdering street rat, can he not trust his Big Brother Rantaro? Or is something holding Kazuichi back from coming clean to me about his ties to the Dynamos? After all, Shuichi_ did _say…_

-

_*an hour earlier*_

“Rantaro, I have a summary of last night’s events concerning Kazuichi Souda’s activity last night, as you ordered.”

“Thank you, Shuichi. Please do inform me.”

“Kazuichi Souda, an apparent friend of many Dynamo gangsters, and Gundham Tanaka, a major Dynamo gangster with a history that everyone is all too aware of, arrived together at a party in the Hope’s Peak Skyscraper that seemed as though it required attendees to bring a date.”

_The Hope’s Peak Skyscraper, huh?_

“Kazuichi bought cocaine from a Dynamo with white hair and an interesting background, they seemed quite familiar with each other. Kazuichi left the party at what seemed to be its height, running out of the building at full speed, not stopping until he reached Triple X about a half a mile away, Gundham Tanaka nowhere in sight.”

An ugly **_sNap_ **caught Shuichi’s attention. He soon noticed a broken pen in Rantaro’s now relaxed hand. The detective’s hands began to shake, which he took care of by putting them behind his back. He really still wasn’t used to “post-Kokichi’s death” Rantaro. “You should know that Kaito and I didn’t go unnoticed, though. That white-haired Dynamo that sold drugs to Souda almost certainly looked suspicious of us.”

“That’s fine.”

“It… is?”

“Yup, from what you’re telling me Tanaka abandoned Kazuichi in his hour of need and that Kazuichi has shady acquaintances within that cesspool of filth and hate that Kuzuryuu calls his gang, and that he probably now knows that my men were on his property.”

“Wait, his property? I thought that was just a rumor...”

Smiling, Rantaro rested his chin on his fist and downcasted his eyes toward the map of the city on his sophisticated desk. “I have much reason to believe that the Skyscraper is now Dynamo territory. Tell me, Shuichi…” He straightened a pile of papers on his desk. “Did you know that Natsumi Kuzuryuu is back in town and staying at the Skyscraper?”

“...”

Rantaro removed his arms from his desk, revealing the many marks on the map akin to the one hanging on the wall with various pictures and document clippings all connected together with a single red string which hadn’t been touched in a few years, much like the lit display cases lining the walls filled with everything from clown masks to Nerf weapons. Everything about this office was so comically supervillain that it practically screamed Kokichi, even long after his death. Shuichi slowly made his way toward the desk, watching Rantaro for any sign of protest or disapproval. He examined the map and quickly deduced that all the buildings highlighted in various shades of yellow were Dynamo buildings, darker shades coloring armories, lighter ones covering meeting places, and neutral yellows painting less important areas. Black x’s were strategically placed throughout the map, leading Shuichi to only one conclusion.

“Are you sure that war is a good idea?”

“I’ve been sure for a long time, Shuichi. I’ve just been waiting for more reasons to make it happen, and last night’s happenings are definitely helping my cause.”

“Reasons like…?”

“Well, we’re rivals for starters, and Kuzuryuu is likely going to take yours and Kaito’s presences at the Skyscraper as a threat, so there’s that. And Dynamos have been stealing our sales and selling grounds for far too long, not to mention how many of our people they’ve killed in doing so. They’ve hurt Kazuichi, bought a building that’s much too close to Triple X, the list goes on.”

Shuichi’s expression softened, his pretty eyelashes drooping in sorrow. “And of course there’s the obvious reason…”

“Don’t mention that here.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. Kazuichi left shortly before you got here, so we’re alone, which means that you can freely walk around. Would you mind investigating that new drug Gonta found last week? I believe I left it in the second kitchen.”

“I’ll get on it.”

“Thank you, Shuichi. You’re dismissed.”

Shuichi left the room, quietly and politely closing the door after himself, leaving Rantaro all alone. He stood up from his swivel-throne(a swivel-chair wasn’t fancy enough for Kokichi and a throne wasn’t fun enough, so naturally he forced Miu Iruma to custom-make a combined version of the two) and poured over the map. _This war definitely isn’t going to start itself, we need a catalyst… but what?_

-

_There’s definitely someone holding Kazuichi back from becoming mine, and I’d say that eliminating that person is the perfect catalyst for the war. But who fits that bill the most?_

He spun the shower handle off for the third time that day and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his bare waist as he walked out of his private bathroom and into his bedroom, which still smelled of last night’s heaven. He rubbed a stick of deodorant on his underarm, nearly dropping it as he suddenly remembered an encounter from a few days prior.

_That’s it._

A soft smile graced Rantaro’s handsome features as he formulated a murder plan and thought of Kazuichi’s happy laughter.

***

The Maserati’s engine roared to life as its driver pulled out of the cafė’s parking lot and into the city’s traffic. Pedestrians didn’t seem too eager to cross the street quickly, seeing as they took their time, each agonizingly slow step irritating the average driver.

But not Gundham.

In fact, he was a little grateful for the prolonged stop, it gave him time to think so that he wouldn’t have to distractedly drive. He cast his mind back to the latter part of his and Kazuichi’s conversation. The mechanic had shared his past and current situation with his father in its entirety, sparing no details, and honestly, it left the gangster feeling closer to his sugar baby, but also disgusted. How could a father do such awful things to his own child?! How could he endanger, torture, and abandon one of the only lights in Gundham’s life? And while Kazuichi seemed to possess no desire for revenge, Gundham felt quite different.

People like Kazuichi’s father were better off dead. Preferably in a ditch where no one would find them or mourn their passing. And while the gangster’s murders were never intentional, the mechanic’s story moved him greatly, so much so that he considered, no, _resolved_ to commit his very first intentional murder.

The traffic finally began to move, much to many taxi drivers' relief.

_And I very much intend for that murder to be Takeshi Souda’s._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year, cuties! My New Year's gift to you shall be this six months late chapter which is basically an information overload. School and boy issues have been absolutely kicking my butt but I'm happy to announce that my boy issues are almost sorta kinda resolved and that I will be dropping the class causing me the most anguish. Next chapter is already in the works!


	8. The Next Step

“Alright, is that everybody?”

The group acknowledged their leader with nods and confirmative murmurs.

“Sounds like a ‘yes’ to me. I’m gonna start this off by assuming everyone got my message and knows why they’re here. So, concerning-”

“Um, sir, I believe that I alone am… unaware of why we are meeting.”

Fuyuhiko sighed annoyedly and rubbed at his eyepatch, irritation obvious. “Did you even read the entire message? I can barely trust you to manage my fucking dealers, now I can’t even trust you to read a damn text message?”

“I was with Kazuichi and had… much on my mind…”

“Kinda surprised that anything goes on in your mind. Anyway, I’m going to have to start from the beginning since the fucking Forbidden One was too busy making out with my best friend to prioritize his work.” Nekomaru Nidai and Akane Owari laughed loudly and smacked a profusely red Gundham on the back while Sonia glanced at him sympathetically. Fuyuhiko made his way slowly to the crown feature of his living room: a crystal clear floor length window that spanned across the entire wall, giving him a perfect view of the city he had to share with that gang of psychos that called themselves “Crazy Dice”.

He sighed deeply, mentally preparing himself for the news he was about to share. “For starters, I was given an unexpected report a few hours ago around 4:00 am by that dealer over there-” Fuyuhiko lightly jerked his head toward Nagito who politely stood near the entrance, soft smile gracing his features as he bowed to his boss. “-who told me that Saihara and Momota stood watch outside the Skyscraper last night.”

Everyone’s eyes widened.

“It should’ve been a secret to those Dice bastards that I bought the Skyscraper until after the party, which was actually just a way to informally inform them that I’m their new neighbor, but since two of Amami’s most trusted men sat watch outside, that green-haired fucker must’ve known about my purchase beforehand.” His eyes darkened as he turned to face his most valued members. “We’ve been on the verge of war with them for a while now, but sending spies into my well-earned territory is just fucking sneaky, not to mention insulting, and it makes me think that Amami’s planning something big, and honestly…” He chuckled defeatedly. “I have no idea what the fuck we’re going to do when the time comes.”

The room was shocked into absolute silence, not quite knowing how to react to their boss’s uncharacteristic uncertainty. When it came to his work, Fuyuhiko was always confident with every move he made, every deal, negotiation, purchase. Intimidation and ruthlessness were qualities that came naturally to him and earned the unwavering respect of both his peers and underlings. And despite his kind heart(which he tried so desperately to conceal), mafia work was what he was so clearly born to do. So to keep these details in mind and listen to this ultimate gangster admit such uncertainty, well… it was something that had the potential to cause a little panic.

“Whaddaya _mean_ ya don’t know what we’re gonna do?! You’re our boss, you’re _suppos’_ ta have these things figured out!” shouted Akane, worry and distress painting her normally happy face. “And those Dice weaklings are nothing compared to us, we’re-”

“They’re _not nothing_ , Akane. They’ve gotten way stronger and more numerous in the last year. Things aren’t the way they were when I first founded the Dynamos.”

“But their leader’s nothin’ but an obsessive psycho! Our leader is _you_ , the best of the bunch!” She adopted a confident stance and put her fist to her palm. “And as long as we’ve got you as our leader, we’ve got the advantage.”

Fuyuhiko exhaled frustratedly. The wild card that was Akane’s enthusiasm had the ability to either make or break Fuyuhiko’s patience, and today, ever so slowly, it was cracking. “You clearly don’t understand the weight of the situation, so I suggest you let me speak for a little longer before I lose my fucking mind.”

“But-”

“ _Now_ , Akane.”

Dejectedly, the skilled gymnast stepped down and crossed her arms, leaning against Nekomaru and avoiding eye contact with her boss. Sonia was in a similar state, hands in her lap as she looked to Gundham for his reaction. Gundham, however, still seemed to be quite distracted, gripping the white couch cushion a little too tightly.

“So you called us here to declare that you have no idea what you’re doing? Maybe next time you should consider keeping such information to yourself.”

“I _called_ you guys here because you’re my most trusted members and because I felt that at least _some_ of you deserved the truth about our situation, _jackass_. Or Byakuya, or whatever the hell it is you go by these days.” The addressed simply huffed and turned away, showing none of the perturbation that plagued his colleagues. “I also have an announcement to make.”

All in the room raised their expectant eyes to their leader, uncertainty tangible in the air.

“I’m pleased to tell you that there’ll be another joining us as top members, and he’s standing right over there.” The mafia boss angled his head and motioned to Nagito, who had moved from the entrance and leaned reservedly against the spiral staircase, surprised that his boss had acknowledged someone as lowly as he. “He’s shown me great loyalty and proved his usefulness, and for that I believe he deserves a spot among us.”

Everyone’s mouths were agape as they processed Fuyuhiko’s words. Soon later they were clapping, giving their congratulations to the lucky dealer who managed to defy the odds and ascend to the highest rank. Nagito himself, however, was crying. 

“There must be some mistake, there’s no way someone like me could h-hold s-such a title-”

“Whaddaya mean?! If there’s anyone that deserves this spot, it’s you!”

“Yeah, man! At this point you might not even need training!”

“I’m so proud of you Nagito!”

“Hmph, I’ve witnessed more impressive endeavors.”

Peko Pekoyama decided that this was the best time to break her silence, seeing as the rest of the room was otherwise engaged. She’d remained at her boss’s side throughout the entire meeting and noticed that he’d retreated back to his magnificent window shortly after the announcement. His expression was troubled, pensive. His eyes seemed drawn to a gaudy pink café across from the skyscraper. She stepped slowly towards him, careful to not draw any attention to herself. She leaned down to meet his ear in order to maintain secrecy and whispered, “Fuyuhiko, why did you buy this building even though you knew of the consequences?”

He closed his eyes, handsome features contorting into a pained expression. “It’s just that… everything was going _so fucking well_ this past year that it seemed inevitable that we’d destroy Crazy Dice but…” His eyes reopened as he regretfully recalled, “then things changed. The economy went to shit.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Suddenly all those fuckers that had bought guns or drugs or fucking _whatever_ from us didn’t pay what they owed, and I had already invested so much into buying out warehouses for all our supplies, I can fucking see them from this window, along the shoreline. God, did they have to be right next to the water? Coastal property busts my wallet’s ass open. And all those businesses to launder money through, they weren’t cheap. You know how much nail salons and car washes charge for that? And the damn _Skyscraper_ was the God-forsaken cherry on the top of it all. It just… seemed like _such_ a good idea at the time, but suddenly it just… all caught up to me… and… and...”

He turned his head just enough to see his most prized underlings still congratulating Nagito, whose happy tears were still flowing. It seemed as though they were desperate to cling to the good news and forget the bad.

He couldn’t blame them.

“It’s not just us, either.” Peko furrowed her brow. “You remember what happened with Kazuichi and his fuckface dad? I’ll bet he ran out of cash after spending it on beer and hookers and _that’s_ why he kicked out Kazu. I’m also willing to bet that he blamed it on Kazu’s sexuality as well just to fuck with him. You know how that bastard is.”

“Better than most.”

The assassin took a second to process her conversation with Fuyuhiko. Now, she wasn’t the one who did the books or kept track of what her boss was spending, but she _had_ glanced at “Byakuya’s” notes the week previous. His calmness about the situation surprised her, especially the fact that he remained silent about Fuyuhiko’s purposeful omission of important details, but… pretending was what he did best, she supposed.

Peko readjusted her glasses and took a deep breath, preparing herself for the answer she already knew to the question she was about to ask. “Fuyuhiko, are we prepared in any way to have a war within the next couple months?”

Fuyuhiko turned his head to gaze out what was once his city and settled his eyes on the Crazy Dice-owned club Triple X, a mere two blocks away from the Hope’s Peak Skyscraper’s entrance. “No,” he breathed. He inched closer to the window and pressed his hand against it. It was cool to the touch. “ _Not at all_.”

***

“No… Gundham, are you sure about this?”

“I have never been more sure of anything in my entire existence.”

Resolve set itself into Gundham’s features as he lowered his frilly pink dessert menu to the heart-shaped table. He had treated Sonia to cookies at the Oumami Café after that rather depressing meeting instead of her usual favorite bakery. He found that he quite liked the café and wished to share his findings with a dear friend, despite being here with Kazuichi only an hour prior. The kind and pretty waitress who had served the two was the same one from earlier and failed to hide her shock at Gundham’s reappearance. _Perhaps she’s had a misunderstanding and foolishly assumed that I am cheating on Kazuichi with Sonia. Such a despicable deed would shock me as well._ He had revealed his decision about murdering Takeshi Souda to Sonia, their only privacy being a lack of customers and a cutesy menu as a partition. 

“Gundham… I am also fully aware of how awful Kazuichi’s father is, but think of Kazuichi himself. Just how do you think this would make him feel?” Gundham’s expression softened. “But you must not forget about yourself. I know you have done… this sort of thing before, but are you prepared to live with the weight of committing such an act on purpose? Can you-”

He raised his bandaged hand, motioning for her to stop. “My mind is made up Sonia, and I will not be deterred.”

Sonia reluctantly broke their eye contact and stared pensively out the window, noticing that Triple X was a walking distance away, the Hope’s Peak Skyscraper looming in the distance. _We really shouldn't be so close to Dice territory._ A screeching noise caught her attention and she saw that a car had halted so that it wouldn’t hurt an orange cat, who quickly ran for its life into an alleyway. Sonia could see herself doing the same for the cat. After all, she’d been brought up to believe that all life was precious and worth protecting, but her experience with the mafia had… changed her(for better or worse, she didn’t know). She’d, for the first time, been exposed to the lowest lowlives and scum of the earth, such people challenging her childhood morals beyond belief to the point that in her eyes, murder was now a situational necessity rather than an unthinkable taboo. But the question that stuck closest to her mind was, _Does Kazuichi’s father really deserve to die?_

“Yes.”

“Y-Yes to what?”

“This is an act necessary for Kazuichi’s well-being and happiness.”

“How did you-”

“We have been acquainted long enough for me to identify and analyze your thought patterns.”

Their treats arrived as quickly as their waitress retreated. Sonia took a light, noble sip of her Americano and licked some frosting off of a sugar cookie before responding. “Is there any way at all that I can talk you out of this?”

“Such a way will never exist.”

She sighed. “Well, if that’s the way it is, rather than stopping you…” She took her first bite of her cookie. “I will help you.”

Gundham’s eyes lit up as he took her hand and held it with his own. “ _Brainstorm_. I will help you _brainstorm_ since, seeing as this revenge is entirely your own, it must be you who completes it. Lest you anger the gods of wrath…”

“I am the one they fear to anger, Dark Lady, you needn't worry. And I thank you for your support, my appreciation for you will never run dry.” 

Sonia smiled, squeezing Gundham’s hand as she sipped her coffee once more. _Perhaps I should visit this lovely little oasis more often! Such delicious treats!_

“Do you perhaps already have a method in mind?”

“Unfortunately, I do not.”

She raised her finger to her chin and looked off to the side. “Hmm, well I’m not Peko, so this certainly isn’t within my ‘ballpark’, but I do know that Mr. Souda works at a mechanics shop, so how about we go from there?”

The breeder thought for a second. What was it that mechanics used often, something that if used would guarantee a successful demise? He reminisced about the first time he’d met Kazuichi, when he fixed Gundham’s Maserati in front of the tattoo shop where Dynamo members got themselves branded with the mafia’s logo. He remembered how stunning Kazuichi looked working hard under the hood and wondered if a fallen car hood could crush a man’s skull, but quickly dismissed the thought, since something so thin couldn’t possibly get the job done efficiently. But a fallen object would be perfect to lead the blame away from himself, something so accidental that there was no way to prove it intentional. But just _what_ could it be that mechanics worked with often that could crush them to death without any indication of a murder-

“*gasp*, That’s it.”

“I see you have an idea now.”

He stood abruptly, gathering his things and leaving money for a tip. “I must prepare for this at once, my lady. I must take my leave now and update you later.”

“Do what you must to succeed, I will be your friend through it all.” She had a wistful look in her eyes. “And take care of Kazuichi.”

“I could not dream of doing otherwise.”

With several swift strides he was gone, fueled by newfound pride and confidence, ready to research his plan thoroughly and enact it as soon as possible. He was now at the point of no return, and murder _would be_ inevitable. He slid on his sunglasses, entered his car, and sped away. 

***

“*hah*, Oh hell yeah.”

The sun had been down for quite some time now, which meant that Kazuichi’s peak hours were now upon him. He’d just sniffed a long line of powdery white gold in preparation for a night of Triple X clubbing, dressing himself in his favorite fitted black tank top, black jeans, blue Converse, and grungy Metallica pendant. Seriously, with how much Rantaro blasted it, how could Metallica not rub off on Kazuichi? But the tank top was the star of tonight’s fit. It really did sit so nicely on his toned body, showing off his golden skin and decent biceps. And he knew it too, why else would he wear it when going out and working on cars if not for the attention? The cocaine allowed him to show it off without the nagging feeling of self-consciousness that would have kept it off his body. 

_That little white line, my lifeline… I could be a songwriter._

Tonight was going to be his night, one where he’d live his life with no thought of the consequences because… there really weren’t any. He didn’t need to worry about pissing his father off by smelling like sweat and cologne or running out of money in the middle of the night anymore. He could just have fun, get laid, and go to bed, just the way he liked it. 

The mechanic applied some cherry-flavored chapstick and rubbed his lips together. Guys loved the taste and feel of cherry chapstick and Kazuichi kept that in mind every time he left the house, and now was no different. He left his bedroom to pat Natsumi(who opted to stay home and watch nature documentaries) on the head before he left for his night on the town. She took a sip of her green tea and eyed Kazuichi’s outfit, smirking, indicating that she approved of what she saw. As Kazuichi started making his way towards the door, she remarked, “I guess you and Gundham are gonna have fun tonight.”

He stopped in his tracks, wide eyed. “Yeah. See you later.” The door closed shut as he covered his mouth with his hand in stark realization. Gundham. _Gundham._

_What the hell am I doing?!_

He speed walked to the elevator doors, head spinning. _What, the first free night you get and you already forget your guy? Can’t even blame it on the cocaine, I barely had any._ He frantically pushed the elevator buttons, desperate to relieve some of his guilt. _I can’t have a one night stand tonight! Actually, no, I_ won’t _have a one night stand tonight!_ Much to the mechanic's relief, the doors slid open, revealing a gold patterned floor surrounded by mirrors, a securely attached leather seat in each corner. It was quite a large elevator. _Geez, is it really this hard to teach an old dog new tricks?_ He boarded the elevator, feeling guilty and conflicted.

His stomach dropped as the elevator descended. The last week had been so hectic that he hadn’t noticed his lack of clubbing, but he was definitely feeling the loss now. In fact, it was the first thing he thought of after Gundham went to his meeting at Fuyuhiko’s(what it was for, he didn’t know). It was, well, what he _lived_ for recently, other than school. And a crucial part of clubbing was meeting new people, sleeping with those people, and doing it again. _Ugh, kinda gross when I acknowledge it._ You’d dance on people, drink with them, even do drugs with them. If he had to give up sleeping around, would he have to ditch the cocaine as well? It seemed like the natural thing to do when dating someone. So, if he had to give up a huge part of his lifestyle just to be with Gundham, then… would it be worth it to stay with Gundham?

_But think of the money, the money…_

He remembered the thick bundle of cash he’d received from fixing the Maserati and the one he got after their little “clear-up” at the café. He hadn't expected it, but after he overshared his past to the breeder he ended up with about twelve hundred dollars. _Yeah,_ that _money…_

He really did try to focus on the cash, but his mind's eye kept wandering to how Gundham looked when he paid his sugar baby, what he said before and after, how he said it, the way he blushed… _Damn it_. He felt guilty all over again. 

He ultimately decided to give tonight a goal. _Go to Triple X, do your thing but no drugs. No guys. Nothing. Nope. Dry. Sober. That’s the plan._ He exited the elevator and strode out of the Skyscraper, coke-given confidence and newfound determination at his sides. _And if I end up hating tonight, I’ll break things off with Gundham._ He headed straight for Triple X, emotions and drugs clouding his sense of awareness, so much so that he didn’t notice the same couple of complementary spies from the night before watching him from a nearby alleyway. 

“Hey, he left. I think he’s heading to the club. Shuichi, call Rantaro.”

“He’s definitely going to delay our meeting now.”

“Damn, guess all of tonight’ll be a work night. What do you think he wants to talk about?”

Shuichi pulled a cigarette out from inside Kaito’s jacket and slipped it between his lips, seeming unsure of himself. Kaito leaned down and used his own cigarette in his mouth to light Shuichi’s, making intimate eye contact. The private detective blushed and averted his eyes, but made no moves to push his best friend away. Kaito laughed, noticing that Shuichi no longer made a pained expression when the two got close, and noticed he was, well, _healing_. He pulled back. 

“War. Without a doubt.” His expression became pensive while taking a long drag, only for the expression to break as the detective grew wide eyed and coughed, still unused to smoking. 

“Come on, Shuichi! I thought I trained you how to do this?”

“I’m out of training.”

Kaito laughed lightly, ruffling Shuichi’s hair before boldly leaning down to kiss his temple. “If war comes, you’ll still be my sidekick, right?”

Momentary shock delayed his response. But slowly(and surely), a smile made its way onto the detective’s face as he closed his eyes. “Yeah.” He reopened them and faced Kaito. “‘Till the end.”

***

Nothing much was different. Same music, staff, drink selection, atmosphere. He took a seat at an empty table illuminated by pink neon light. There were neon lights everywhere, lining the walls, seating areas, and bar counters with futuristic streaks of purple and blue. From the ceiling hung strobe lights and bright white dots strung together like modern chandeliers. Off to the side was a huge dance floor in front of the stage which was surrounded by people. Balconies for VIP holders stood over the outskirts of the crowd, just as packed as the bottom floor. The clubbers were rather uninterested in the bar and seating area tonight, as they always were when _she_ came to perform. Kazuichi could hardly see her from his lonely table but sure could hear her, those synth skills were unmistakable. She usually performed on Fridays at Triple X to hundreds of people, emphasizing just how popular and relevant this club was.

Kazuichi crossed his arms and listened. _Damn, she’s good._ He wondered how well she could see the keys from under her mask, and why she wore one in the first place. Her entire outfit was rather mysterious, she looked like a suspect in a masquerade ball murder mystery. The frilly, layered satin gown, elbow-length gloves, butterfly-esque face mask, topped off with a bow on her bust and a lily in her blonde hair, all in a soft lavender. 

This wasn’t the only place she performed, either. Kazuichi saw her in that same getup dancing her fingers gracefully across a grand piano in the lobby of the restaurant that Gundham had asked him out to Fuyuhiko’s party in. She went by the alias “The Ultimate Pianist” and was apparently quite expensive to hire and hard to book, and anyone that managed to get her to perform for them had to be a big deal. That fact begged a certain question that appeared in Kazuichi’s mind earlier that week, _Just who the hell owned Triple X?_

“You alone?”

Kazuichi was abruptly pulled from his thoughts by a blonde stranger in a white button up and jeans, a little of his chest exposed where a blue scarf was draped lazily around his neck. His style and aura seemed rather plain and he wasn’t Kazuichi’s type, but his pretty face more than made up for it. The blonde gave him a sly smile as he eyed him from his shoes up to his face. “I got paid today, so I’ll buy you as many drinks as you want.” His hands slid from his pockets to support himself as he leaned against the table. “So what do you say?”

_Geez, am I being tested already?_

“Uh…”

He leaned closer, nose an inch away from Kazuichi’s. “Oh come on, don’t tell me you’re straight.”

The mechanic’s brain was _urging_ him to kiss this man. Lascivious dark green eyes screamed at Kazuichi that this adonis had no intention of keeping this a friendly drinking session, and Kazuichi wanted nothing more than to pursue that.

But… 

“I’m taken.”

Mentally kicking himself in the foot, he stood. “I’m sorry.”

He began walking away when he noticed the blonde side-eyeing him a bit suspiciously, almost as if he wasn’t convinced. Despite this, he abandoned pursuit and left, disappearing into the crowd. It wasn’t totally unreasonable a reaction though; after all, Kazuichi knew that his heart wasn’t in his words. He felt guilty, but most of all, surprisingly left out. The feeling was similar to being invited to someone’s house as a child but having to refuse the offer since your parents didn’t give you permission to go. Like you desperately wanted to, but alas, outside authorities swoop in to interfere with how you choose to live your life. 

This pattern prevailed throughout the night. Approach, reject, repeat. Kazuichi had gotten sick of it, so he took refuge on a VIP balcony that oversaw the stage. The Ultimate Pianist was finishing up her last song when Kazuichi decided he needed a drink. Only a shot though, he never had more than three, but the same never went for his powder. He’d only sniffed twice tonight but wished he had enough for a proper high despite vowing to avoid it for the night. Apparently addiction ran in the family. He left his posh white cushion and stepped down the glowing spiral staircase past a few men that he’d die to be with right now. He just couldn’t help but question his dedication to Gundham in this environment, especially since their relationship wasn’t serious. Yes, they shared an attraction to one another but Kazichi shared an attraction with many people. There was the money, of course, but when Kazuichi would stop himself from giving in to infidelity he wouldn’t think of his bundles of cash, he’d think of Gundham’s face, his smile, specifically. How he spoke, moved, made Kazuichi _feel_. It was definitely a more special connection but the problem wasn’t whether or not the connection was strong enough, but rather if it was worth changing for.

_Yeah, I really need a drink._

His favorite barstool, the one furthest from the dancefloor, was unoccupied, and Kazuichi took it, enjoying the booming synth but disfavoring his low energy. Someone, a young man, came from behind the bar sporting the classic Triple X bartending uniform and a bluetooth earpiece, but most importantly, fluffy green hair.

Kazuichi couldn’t hide the smile in his tone. “Rantaro!”

Rantaro jerked his head toward the voice, soft smile gracing his features as he raised his hand to the earpiece and immediately hung up. “Hey!” He picked up one of Kazuichi’s favorite crystal shot glasses(the ones even VIPS paid extra for) and began cleaning it, already preparing to make a rum and cola. “How was your day? Have you been safe?”

The mechanic smiled and half-heartedly rolled his eyes before sarcastically remarking, “Nope, smoked some meth before Natsumi pushed me in front of a moving vehicle.” The bartender laughed lightly before setting down the glass and rag, resting his hand atop Kazuichi’s head. “You shouldn’t joke like that. I just might believe you, you know.”

“Don’t be so dramatic.”

“Me? Dramatic? Never.”

Reaching for a scoop of ice, Rantaro grinned, a content look in his eyes. “I see you’re alone tonight.”

“Geez, don’t look so damn happy about it.”

The ice fell into the crystal glass as nimble ringed fingers set it down onto the counter, then poured rum and Coca Cola into it simultaneously and swirling it together with a metal straw, finally garnishing the rim with a thin slice of vibrant green lime. “Happy, more like…” He handed the glass to Kazuichi who thanked him and took a savoring sip, bliss apparent on his face. “...relieved.” He thought nothing of the fact that Rantaro caressed his hand. “I worry about you a lot, you know.”

“Oh, I know.”

“I’m serious, you never know what you could be getting yourself into by hooking up with strangers. I’m not going to avidly nag you about what you should and shouldn’t do with your body, but… By hooking up like that, you’re really putting yourself at risk.” Kazuichi remembered the incidents in the campus bathroom and on Fuyuhiko’s roof and squeezed Rantaro’s hand. “So yes, when I clock in and see you here sober and alone, I’m quite happy.” His other hand found its way onto Kazuichi’s head once more.

“Sober? Uh, not exactly.”

“Well, you’re functional, and that’s enough for now. So, how’s the drink?”

The mechanic smiled, knowing that Rantaro still wasn’t confident in his mixing skills despite the fact every rum and cola he’d ever made was superb. They even dissuaded Kazuichi from ordering them from anyone else due to their quality. It’s no wonder Triple X wanted him to work behind the counter, and yet, he asked the same question almost every time. Rantaro had many talents, but this one was by far his most impressive. Kazuichi might even go as far to call him the “Ultimate Bartender”. 

“It’s awesome.” 

He blushed lightly. “Haha, I know you say that just to make me feel better. You can be honest with me, Kaz.” The cash register beeped as Rantaro added the drink and this month’s VIP membership to a never-ending tab that Kazuichi didn’t ask much about. Silver rings and studs on his ears reflected the pink light that illuminated the back counter. Grungy Chrome Hearts rings on his fingers and that one soft chunky bang that draped over the side of his face made him look so stylish, so cool, even in a plain uniform. 

“I am telling the truth!”

“Haha.” His laugh was so charming and boyish. That voice of his wasn’t too deep, either, just the right pitch to be manly yet not overbearing, but rather endearing.

“So how’s tonight looking for ya? Just gonna work?”

“Unfortunately, yeah, but there’s a meeting taking place after my shift that I’m pretty excited for."

_That_ . With Rantaro, there was always something he had to say about work, and when there wasn’t, he was actually _at_ work. It made Kazuichi wonder, and not for the first time, if the reason Rantaro didn’t have a girlfriend was because of his job. He could really sympathize with him if that were the case. There was a time before college when the mechanic was so busy in the family auto body shop that he didn’t even have time to crush on anyone, which was saying a lot for him. His pondering led to a pressing question.

“Hey, Taro, why’re you single?”

Rantaro stopped mid-stretch, his eyes widening ever so slightly. He laughed awkwardly, placing his hand on the back of his head, a clear sign that he was uncomfortable. “I’m just… not interested in any girls right now.” He quickly ditched the awkwardness and threw on a smile, polishing a wine glass to appear more natural. “So, how’s Hajime?”

Quickly forgetting the previous topic, Kazuichi’s stomach dropped. _Hajime!_ He clasped his temples in disbelief. _Leon, too!_ Groaning woefully, Kazuichi downed some more of his rum and cola as he realized that he’d been completely neglecting his friends. His life really was changing drastically.

“Ugh, damn, how is it that you’re a better friend to Hajime than I am?”

“Ah, not really, we’ve hardly spoken at all, only when I run into the two of you.”

“And yet, I’m still shittier. I’m gonna call him.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. I don’t know him well, but I’m sure Hajime understands. Unless he doesn’t…”

“Quit it!”

“Haha, I’m joking. Tell him I said hey.”

Kazuichi grabbed his phone and pressed the home button before it was even out of his pocket, eager to call his soul friend. It was already to his ear when he heard it ring, making him feel a little bewildered. Who could be calling him right now?

The screen cast a bright light on Kazuichi's bulging eyes as Gundham’s iMessage profile picture completely dominated it. The mechanic never thought that looking at an image of orange fluffy hamsters would nearly make him shit his pants. “Uh, I’ll answer it outside. Loud music and stuff.” He was already halfway to the exit when Rantaro responded, “Oh, okay.”

_Damn it, damn it, damn it!_ He sped past the bouncer and noticed the Oumami Café, closed and dark yet still cheerfully pastel. But what really caught his attention was Gundham Tanaka leaning against his suave purple Maserati parked in front of the café’s entrance, phone to his ear.

“Gundham?!”

His voice carried over across the street, alerting Gundham of Kazuichi’s presence. He smiled, pleased at the coincidental encounter. He made eye contact with the mechanic, jerking his head towards the car, asking Kazuichi to join him, which he obliged. Gundham unlocked the car and opened the passenger door, motioning for Kazuichi to come in.

“Wait, wait, hold on a second. What are you doing here?”

“I planned to rendezvous with you tonight as a surprise. I stopped here to inform you of my plans since doing so while driving will surely result in my incarceration.”

Kazuichi had to laugh at the idea of Gundham demanding police officers to “unhand me, you _fools_!”. Gundham _was_ a mafia member, so Kazuichi wondered if he’d ever been in contact with the police before. _Now that’s definitely something I gotta see someday._ His body lost the tension it had when the gangster called and stepped into the Maserati, just as sleek and stylish as it was earlier that day when the breeder drove him home from the café. Gundham got in from the driver’s side and pulled his door shut, turning the key in the ignition and bringing the car to life. “Although, I did not foresee you occupying the same area.” Rather uncharacteristically, his expression darkened at Kazuichi. “But I must ask, did you emerge from that degenerate club run by Dice villains?”

_Ah, shit, forgot Triple X wasn’t Dynamo territory. But wait, “Dice” villains?”_

“Run by… who?”

“ _Crazy Dice_ , Kazuichi.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You don’t know of the fiercest menace that my foreman has ever had to face? They continue to grow stronger and more problematic by the day, they have taken possession of over half the city, and the meeting I had after our date was about their detrimentality to all that us Dynamos hold dear.”

“Oh, so they’re like your rival gang?”

“Precisely.”

“Well damn, I’ve sure been in the dark.”

The vehicle smoothly pulled out of its parking space and onto the road, where it enjoyed little traffic and very few pedestrians. The ride was so smooth that the mechanic’s motion sickness only slightly irked him, which was rare. Kazuichi stared out at Triple X, wondering how he hadn't managed to hear about the seemingly fearsome gang that owned his home away from home. Did Rantaro know about this? That he was technically working for gangsters? Kazuichi knew all too well what being acquainted with gangsters was like, from his childhood all the way to adulthood and knew that he didn’t want that for Rantaro. He decided that he’d have a talk with him about it another day.

“Refrain from attending such a place, Kazuichi. Those villains spread their influence everywhere, like a skunk spraying its stench onto a group of aggravators.”

“Gross image, dude.”

They drove for a minute in silence as Kazuichi continued to disbelieve his ignorance to such a huge organization. They couldn’t have been around for long, right? But they’d definitely need time to gain the power and notoriety to own a place like Triple X so they definitely weren’t spanking newcomers, but more interestingly, that meant that they were on the same level with the Dynamos, and based on what Gundham had said, maybe even higher.

_How do you deal with a rival like that? Geez, talk about stressful._

“I really don’t understand how I could’ve lived here my whole life and not know about them. I’m not the most observant guy out there but geez, this is kinda embarrassing.”

“Do not look down on yourself, they are rather new, after all. Only a few years old.”

“Really…”

They arrived at a rich suburban neighborhood, a la Beverly Hills. These houses boasted so much more than plain white picket fences and green lawns, some were protected by elaborate gates, walls, hedges, and the like. Front yards were more akin to a queen’s private garden than a stretch of grass. From the confines of Gundham’s luxury car, Kazuichi could spot thick bushes dotted with roses of all colors and little specks of white jasmine decorating some privacy hedges. He lowered his window and enjoyed the light breeze which blew the delightfully soft and sweet scents of flowers into the Maserati. The cool night air lifted his spirits as he allowed himself to get lost in the wonder of these homes, some resembling plantation houses, abstract geometry, and even castles!

“Does the view please you?”

“Duh! Dude, where are we?!”

“My neighborhood.”

“Your _what_?!”

Gundham chuckled in amusement as he pulled into a gated driveway which opened as he drove in. “It may seem bold of me, but I thought we could enjoy a night together in my not-so-humble abode.” Kazuichi grinned and observed Gundham with a knowing look. The breeder flushed and quickly sputtered to explain himself. “N-Not in that way, y-you- Oh!” He slowed his car so as to not hit a rather large tortoise slowly making its way to the pond along the brick wall that enclosed the property.

“Was that a… turtle?”

“Tortoise.”

Kazuichi leaned over Gundham to get a better look at the large fellow, flustering the driver slightly. He noticed that there wasn’t just one tortoise, oh no, there were _four_. There were also a few cats, a capybara, some rat snakes, doves, two peacocks, and God knows what else.

Realizing he’d signed up for way more than he’d bargained for by hopping in Gundham’s car without question, Kazuichi sighed and braced himself for a rather eventful night.

“Do they have names?"

***

As midnight approached closer and closer, Rantato made peace with the fact that Kazuichi wasn’t coming back and went to the employee’s locker room to change out of his uniform. He unbuttoned the vest and loosened his tie as he walked over to the washing machine. He stripped down to his boxers, which were black with neon green seams and a blue waistband. After dumping the uniform into the washing machine and kicking off his shoes, he crossed his arms and leaned against the lockers, thinking. There was no longer a need to keep up the bartender charade for the night if Kazuichi wasn’t there. He was lucky that Kazuichi had an unchanging clubbing schedule that limited nights at Triple X from Friday to Sunday. If he was an irregular customer, Rantaro would have to play bartender for a lot longer than he’d like to convince the mechanic that he worked there. Sometimes patrons noticed his inconsistent shifts but he never delved too deep into it with them. After all, he was only there for Kazuichi.

With all distractions now out of the way, he decided it was time to hold the meeting. He activated his earpiece and proceeded to call his most trusted member and private detective, already expecting how the meeting would turn out.

_“Rantaro, is it time?”_

“Yeah. Get them ready, I want to have this meeting now.”

_“Okay. But I have to ask, am I going to need to bring Maki, too?”_

_Perceptive as always,_ Rantaro thought. _Nothing gets past him._

“Yes, I’ll definitely need Maki. Having a professional for the job is essential, after all.”

_“She won’t be happy to see you.”_

“Haha, I imagine not. So you guys still talk, huh…”

_“The meeting will be in his office, I assume?”_

“Right.”

_“Alright. I’ll have everyone there in ten minutes.”_

“Thanks, Shuichi. You make me really proud, you know.”

_“...”_

_“I’ll see you soon. Bye.”_

“See you.”

***

“This here is Athena, and atop the bookshelf is her companion, Leviathan. And at my feet, resides Baelfire.”

Kazuichi was sitting quite still on the soft black couch, paying little attention to Gundham. He was rather distracted by the chocolate brown rabbit resting in his lap, its little nose twitching a mile a minute. He reached to stroke its delicate forehead before it snapped his head towards him and looked him in the eye… _menacingly_. He quickly retracted his hand and gulped, a bead of sweat forming on his temple as the rabbit went back to relaxing where it was. Animals tended to be wild cards when around Kazuichi.

The house’s scene certainly didn’t match its set. The exterior was one of many castle-like homes in the area, the outside consisted mostly of turrets and tall clear windows, built up with white stone and topped with sloping brown tiles. He’d entered the home in awe of not only its appearance, but its inhabitants. Everywhere was absolutely crawling with animals of all kinds, and Kazuichi still had yet to question it. The grand hall from the front door to the living room was like a bustling street of varied creatures. Straight across from the front door was a sliding glass door, through which Kazuichi could see a couple of alligators reclining on some grass and rocks. _And I thought the hamsters were a bit much._ The controlled chaos just simply didn’t match the grand chandelier, spiralling staircase, and posh decor. And at this point, Kazuichi just had to slip in an inquiry.

“Soooooo… you like animals?”

“Like? These beasts are my life.”

“Yeah, I can see that. But they’re _everywhere_. Why do you have so _many_?”

“I take great pleasure in caring for and successfully breeding these creatures.”

“Dude, that’s sick.”

“I didn’t mean it in _that_ way!”

“Haha.”

Gundham gently picked up the rabbit in Kazuichi’s lap and held it securely, scratching behind its ears. He stood and motioned for Kazuichi to do the same. “Come, it’s time for Vesuvius to take his medication.” He led the mechanic up the stairs to an enormous room, half of which resembled a veterinarian’s office while the other half looked like the aquarium section of a pet store. A cat tree was built into the wall opposite the door. He carefully placed Vesuvius the rabbit on the center counter and moved toward the sink where he retrieved a small baby bottle with black liquid inside. While Gundham worked, Kazuichi inched closer to Vesuvius and extended his hand, which the rabbit did not seem to mind. However, when Kazuichi’s fingers grazed the rabbit’s forehead, it promptly snapped at him. Kazuichi did not attempt to pet him again.

“What’s wrong with the little guy? Well, other than the fact that he doesn’t like me.”

Gundham took the rabbit into his arms and carried it like you would a baby and inserted the baby bottle’s nipple into its mouth, prompting it to sip eagerly. Kazuichi’s heart melted at the sight. “Vesuvius ate some of the ivy that creeped over from my neighbor’s wall into my garden, and I failed to realize it was there until the poor fool had already eaten his fill. I am feeding him activated charcoal dissolved in water to combat the poisons ailing his fragile stomach.” 

“Poor guy just wanted a snack, huh? I know the feeling.”

When the bottle was empty, Gundham placed Vesuvius down on the floor where he hopped out of the little clinic and down the stairs to take a nap on the couch. 

“Aren’t you worried about them hurting each other, running all over the place like this?”

“They have accepted me as master of the house and respect my rules, although small squabbles between them are inevitable and frequent, especially at meal time.”

Kazuichi smiled and a warm feeling grew in his chest, giving him a cheeky idea. “They really love you, don’t they?”

Gundham grinned and chuckled. “It’s a mutual love.” He snaked his hand around Kazuichi’s waist and looked at his many fish tanks. “Shall I introduce to you to the aquatic resid-”

He was cut off by a pair of soft, chapsticked lips kissing his own, affectionately. He remained still, surprise momentarily delaying himself from melting into it, which he did. His other arm embraced Kazuichi as well, the mechanic tilting his head and cupping the breeder’s face to deepen the kiss. They separated with a _chu_ and met once again, savoring each other’s tastes, this kiss longer and more passionate than the last. They separated once again, smiling shyly at each other.

“I believe… that was our first.”

“Yeah, and certainly not the last.”

They spent the next hour a little closer to one another, not to mention a little giddier. Gundham gave Kazuichi a full tour of his house, or rather not _his_ , per se, but the Nevermind family’s. It was their summer home before they purchased a newer one on the other side of town, by the beach. They gifted it to Gundham after his mother died in his last year of high school since he could not afford to pay his old apartment expenses by himself, and he’d lived here ever since, gradually adding to his vast family of various animals(with the Neverminds’ permission, of course). It was a grand house of two floors and many rooms, the modern interior juxtaposing the medieval-inspired exterior. Gundham’s bedroom was the grandest of all, it was the only room in the house that did not cater almost exclusively to the animals. A king-sized bed draped in silk purple sheets overseen by an eggplant canopy sat in the center, ornately carved nightstands on either side. Opposite the bed was a huge antique dresser topped with picture frames, candelabras, and mysterious-looking bottles. Dried up rosemary and lavender stalks hung from the ornate craftsmanship of the round mirror that hung on the wall. The remaining walls were rather undecorated; one housing a roomy closet and fancy bathroom and the other serving as a huge exit to the balcony which did not have a door, but rather a thick, luxurious royal purple curtain.

“Yup, there’s no doubt, this is definitely _your_ bedroom.”

“Is that your pathetic attempt at mockery?”

“P-Pathetic?!”

“Come, let’s enjoy the balcony together.”

They sat opposite each other at a beautifully sculpted white stone table on matching stone benches. Kazuichi felt rather special here, everything was just so upscale. It was honestly a little overwhelming; he still got overwhelmed visiting Hajime’s mansion. 

Stars sparkled above the young men as the pale moon illuminated their view of Gundham’s backyard, which had a wide pond and biodiverse landscaping. He didn’t even recognize some of the flowers bordering the patio. A cool breeze drifted past them carrying the scent of gardenia flowers and Kazuichi felt at peace. But as he glanced at Gundham and saw his Dynamo tattoo peeking out from under his sleeve, a question suddenly begged his attention.

“Say, Gundham, what exactly do you do for Fuyuhiko, anyways?”

The question caught the breeder a little off guard. He was surprised that Kazuichi hadn’t asked it sooner, but after getting to know him a little more, he realized that Kazuichi tended to focus his attention on trivialities in spite of unfamiliar situations and deemed the delay to be in character. He could be silly like that. _How endearing._

“I manage our narcotic sales, or rather, the underlings that sell them. I ensure that they are doing their job properly and remaining loyal to our foreman, but I also serve as bodyguard to him when he requests it. I also run errands on occasion.” He could see the tip of the Hope’s Peak Skyscraper peeking over his privacy wall. It was one of the shorter skyscrapers in the metropolitan area, towering over few others. “However, it _did_ always puzzle me as to why _I_ would be appointed as a bodyguard. Mr. Kuzuryuu doesn’t exactly hold me in the highest regard, but that is to be expected.”

Kazuichi thought for a second, wondering the same thing. “Well y’know, I’ve only ever seen you freak out once, and it was for a… relatively justified reason-” Gundham blushed in slight shame. “-so I guess he trusts that you’d only ever lose your cool on someone that truly deserved it.”

“No one deserves such violence.” _Except for your father._

“Well, maybe, but that guy at the party was a total douche anyway. Don’t let it eat you up.” He grabbed Gundham’s hand which prompted them to make eye contact. Kazuichi had more to say but was momentarily distracted by how damn _good_ Gundham looked. His shirt was made of purple silk, a few buttons on the top undone, exposing a bit of his chest and what seemed to be a scar. Black slacks hung from a Gucci belt and ended right above debonair black dress shoes. And you couldn’t miss the scarf that hung around his neck or the chunky bang that grazed it. It was flatter than usual today and its white streak was brighter than ever, and Kazuichi loved it. Gundham’s style was just so elegant and _edgy_ in the hottest way possible. He couldn’t let himself stay distracted the entire night though, he had something a little more important to share with the breeder.

“Uh, hey…”

Gundham cocked his head, curious about the conversation to come. “Yes?”

“You know how I was at Triple X earlier today?”

“Yes, and I’m still not very happy about it.”

“I know, I know, but… I’m a regular there, you see and-”

“You’re _what_?! Kazuichi, do you have any idea what goes on in-”

“ _I know_ , I know, I’m stupid for not doing my research and I’ll keep that in mind from now on.” Gundham still looked displeased. “I won’t visit it anymore, okay? I’ll tell you why right now.”

“Hmmm… Proceed.”

Kazuichi sighed, a little embarrassed for what he was about to confess. “I actually went there tonight with a specific goal in mind. I went there… to figure out whether or not I wanted to break up with you.” Gundham didn’t respond and looked a little crestfallen. You could see his heart breaking ever so slightly in his eyes.

“But I thought we discussed this already… Was I under the wrong impression?”

“N-No! It’s just that at the time I hadn’t realized what I would have to give up to make this work, a-and tonight I did. I wanted to live out another night the way I always had and compare it to spending a night with you. A-And, well…”

The breeder was silent, facing Kazuichi with his hands clasped together and eyes expectant.

“I chose you.”

In an instant Gundham was kissing Kazuichi. It was desperate at first but slowly… turned sweet and gentle. One hand held Kazuichi’s and the other cupped his cheek. It was honestly a bit much for the mechanic, he felt that his heart might explode. But in spite of that, he smiled into the kiss and deepened it, gripping Gundham’s strong hand.

Slowly, they separated, grinning at each other like lovesick teenagers. However, there was something different glinting in the breeder’s eyes, something that Kazuichi hadn’t seen in Gundham before but recognized all too well. He moved forward so that his mouth was an inch away from Gundham’s ear and ignored his (mildly)sober bashfulness and whispered, “Carry me to your bed."

***

Anticipation filled the room like dense, heavy fog. Everyone inside was tense and kept their gazes down, too stressed to look up at their leader or even each other. The ten minutes were nearly up, and the delivery boy still hadn’t arrived with the guest of honor. Rantaro glanced at his luxury wristwatch and noticed that thirty seconds remained until his meeting was to start and was about to break the silence when the gilded door handle turned and pushed forward, revealing a relieved Shuichi Saihara and a resentful Maki Harukawa.

Rantaro exhaled in relief. “Shuichi! I never should have doubted your punctuality. You’re really reliable, you know that?”

“ _Shut up_. Don’t get on my nerves because if you do I’ll leave without hesitation.”

“Maki…”

“Don’t even try to defend him, Shuichi. I know _exactly_ why I’m here”

“Good, but the rest of them don’t, save for Shuichi here. So I’m going to spend a little time explaining, okay?” He smiled at Maki, who shot him one of her famous death glares. It was a shame that she hated him now, he really was glad to see her. “You all know pretty well that I’ve been wanting war, right? Well, now we finally have the finances and manpower to do so and win, but something’s been holding me back.” He stood from Kokichi’s old swivel-throne, his expression dead serious. “I needed a catalyst, I’d never just wage war for no reason, and although _we_ have plenty of reasons, I want the feeling to be mutual.”

Shuichi bit his lip, already knowing where this was going. Kaito noticed and gripped his shoulder, quite nervous himself. “Personally, I think an assassination is the perfect way to kick things off.”

“Wait! Shuichi, when you told us that we were going to have a meeting about _that_ person, you meant that we were going to discuss assassination?!”

“Yes, Kaede. It’s been in the works for a few days.”

Kaito whipped around to face Maki. “M-Makiroll, you’re not seriously going to do this, are you?!”

“I’m doing this for the collateral damage that will follow the murder, not the killing itself.”

“But you _swore_ to me that you’d stop doing thi-”

“ _Yes_ , I know, okay?! But you have to understand that this is necessary, otherwise I wouldn’t even consider it.” Maki clenched her fists and turned away, trying not to tear up. She couldn’t bear to look at Kaito, knowing that she was here to break her promise to him. _Just another reason to loathe Rantaro Amami and all he’s done to Crazy Dice_ , she thought. Being in this very room pained her and she couldn’t wait to leave.

Kaito dropped the subject, knowing Maki wasn’t to blame for this. He instead turned to Rantaro and mustered up all his Momota courage to refute Rantaro. “We can’t do this, man. You want war, don’t you? Did you ever think that you might get more than war out of this, or are you too out of your mind to realize that what you’re doing is fucking insane?”

Rantaro ignored him and closed his eyes, resting his chin atop his folded hands. Kaito planted his hands on either side of Rantaro’s desk, noticing the elaborate map taped to it. There were many yellow highlighter markings and some newer-looking red ones staining a location nearby. “Do you even realize how much you’ve changed since Kokichi died? Hell, we _miss_ you Taro, all of us. You haven’t been the same in fucking forever. The only time I see remnants of your old self is when you’re hanging around that pink-haired guy.” Rantaro still hadn’t acknowledged Kaito’s words. Exasperated, he turned to Shuichi, who seemed to be thinking intently.

_Come on, Shuichi! Help me out, I’m sweating here._

“Kaito’s right.”

To everyone’s surprise, Shuichi spoke up. Even Rantaro opened his eyes and focused his attention on Shuichi. “Kokichi… wouldn’t have wanted this. He had a no killing policy, remember?” Of course everyone remembered, it was one of his golden rules, back when Crazy Dice was just DICE. Those days seemed so long ago and yet still remained fresh in their minds. “Despite everything that’s happened, do you really, truly think that is what he would’ve-”

“It isn’t about what Kokichi would have wanted, Shuichi.”

Everyone’s attention was now on Kaede, whose somber look didn’t suit her happy features in the slightest. “K-Kaede? What are you talking about?”

“Maki’s right, this is necessary after what _he_ did to Kokichi. We absolutely have to prevent something like that from ever happening again, and I think Rantaro’s plan will do just that.” She squeezed her eyes shut, obviously devastated by the circumstances. “We’ll just have to get through this together, okay?” She held Shuichi’s hands. “Please, I just want all of us to survive.” 

Shuichi began to stammer, already feeling tears beginning to develop. “W-We don’t have to do this-”

“But we do.”

Rantaro had broken his silence and stared at the desk map. “It’s the only way to avenge him.”

“No!”

“Enough, Kaito. My mind is made up.”

“H-Hey! You can’t just-”

“ ** _Enough_**.”

Kaito gulped, backing down. Normally he wouldn’t dare but he vividly remembered the last time he vehemently opposed Rantaro and became extremely conscious of the old scar on his left arm. That wound hurt so bad that he started wearing his jacket on only one sleeve for a while but continued to do so since he liked the aesthetic. But he wasn’t stupid enough to stand his ground today, after all, Maki wasn’t on his side this time. 

He clenched his teeth and let Rantaro finish. _Damn it, Kokichi, I’m sorry._ He retreated back to Shuichi’s side but noticed a resolve in his eyes and hoped he wouldn’t he wouldn’t voice it.

“He _wouldn’t_ have wanted this.”

_Damn it, Shuichi_.

Sighing, Rantaro ran his hand through his hair and met Shuichi’s determined gaze, “I had a good day today and I’ve been in a pretty good mood so I’ll all this slide for today, since its you guys, but _don’t even_ **_start_ ** about what Kokichi would or wouldn’t have wanted. What the hell would any of you guys know about what he wanted? Kaito-” Kaito flinched. “-all you ever did was fight with him, Maki too. Kaede, you were around him all the time and yet still never tried to know him deeply-” Kaede looked away, guilty. “And _Shuichi_ , despite being his actual boyfriend, you were way too busy trying to figure him out instead of learning what he wanted, so-”

“That’s wrong.”

All sound in the room disappeared as Shuichi stood his ground.

“What?”

“You’re _wrong_ , Rantaro. I’m sure of it.”

The detective seemed sure of himself, a quality that was only ever present when Kaito was involved in some way. He knew that if Kokichi were alive murder would be out of the question but since he wasn’t, it was up to Shuichi to uphold that for him, regardless of who opposed it.

Rantaro’s eyes were wide, but then… he _chuckled_. 

_Oh, Shuichi. I know for a fact that he’d be proud to see how much you’ve grown, But_ you _don’t know that, and that’s all I need to know that I’m right. He cared for you the most, after all, so I’m obligated to do not only what’s best for you in this situation, but what’s best for everyone._ He loosened the collar of his baggy shirt and exhaled lightly. _And for that, I’m not sorry._

“Kaito, Kaede, hold him down.”

“W-Wait, no!”

Two of Shuichi’s closest friends held him back from their boss’s desk, hot tears rolling down their eyes as Shuichi jerked and yelled, while his third closest friend walked to Rantaro’s desk as per his request.

“Maki, you’ll be stationed in this building where this ‘X’ is with a sniper rifle, while the others stand watch at these various ‘O’-marked locations, alright?”

“Understood.”

“Haha…”

Maki narrowed her eyes. “Just what the hell is funny about any of this?”

“Nothing, nothing, it’s just that this one move will kill _so many_ birds with a single stone, and Kazuichi will finally be mine.”

Shuichi and the others stopped struggling in unpleasant surprise when the final piece of the puzzle that was Rantaro’s plan clicked in their heads, why war needed to be waged _now_ , why assassination was the _only_ way it would work, why _that_ particular person was chosen…

“Who’s Kazuichi? What does he have to do with this assassination?”

Rantaro slowly sat down in the swivel-throne, relaxing as he leaned back in apparent bliss.

“You don’t have to know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, this has been in the making for quite a while. I really should update more often, semi-annually is just setting the bar way too low for myself. But anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Things are only going to escalate from here and believe me, not even I'm prepared for what's to come. Hope you guys are staying safe and healthy through all the happenings in the real world <3 I'll see you guys again soon with another chapter :D

**Author's Note:**

> Can you believe this is my first story? I sure can.


End file.
